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Travis County approves $700,000 interlocal agreement for emergency childcare slots and educator stipends
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Summary
Travis County Commissioners Court unanimously approved a $700,000 interlocal agreement with Workforce Solutions to fund temporary childcare for up to 125 children and wage stipends for 77 credentialed early childhood educators; funds are from county general funds and the agreement runs through fiscal year 2028.
Travis County Commissioners Court on Feb. 11 unanimously approved an interlocal agreement with Workforce Solutions Capital Area to provide temporary childcare services and wage stipends for early childhood educators.
Health and Human Services Division Director of Research and Planning Corey Darling introduced the item and Hilda Rivas, the county’s early childhood lead, detailed the contract. “This interlocal agreement for $700,000 is part of a Baker Health and Human Services early childhood services portfolio with investments totaling $1,763,607,” Rivas said.
The agreement has two components: a $600,000 childcare service pool intended to support up to 125 children age 0–5 (with older siblings and children 6–13 eligible if funding allows) and a $100,000 wage stipend program for 77 credentialed early childhood educators. Rivas said the stipend component targets educators holding an associate’s, bachelor’s or master’s degree who work in licensed or registered centers or family/home providers that receive subsidized childcare assistance and serve families at or below 85% SMI.
Commissioners asked about the program’s relationship to federal childcare funding and future county revenue. Commissioner Shay asked whether the county was already seeing a loss of federal funding or simply preparing for families who lose federal scholarships; Rivas replied that Workforce Solutions’ federal-funded scholarships can end for reasons such as low attendance, work-hours changes or increased household income, and the county program can provide local support for up to a year in those cases. Commissioner Hart asked whether the stipend program was an ongoing county program or newly funded; Rivas said the county has funded wage stipends for years and that the contract is a renewal. She added the agreement currently uses general funds and is not yet funded by the county’s Transit-Related Expenditure (TRE) revenue. The court was told the contract term extends through fiscal year 2028.
Commissioner Shay moved approval; Commissioner Howard seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
The county said remaining early childhood contracts from the same request for services (RFS) remain open and will be presented in March.
