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Travis County launches voter-backed Raising Travis County fund, announces $6.5M in immediate contracts and $9M annual out-of-school-time procurement
Summary
At the first quarterly Raising Travis County town hall, county officials outlined how the voter-approved $75 million annual fund will expand childcare and out-of-school-time services, announced $6.5 million in contracts pending court approval, a $9 million annual RFS for after-school slots and other near-term investments.
Travis County officials used the county’s first quarterly Raising Travis County town hall to outline how the voter-approved $75,000,000 annual fund will be used to expand affordable child care, stabilize the provider workforce and increase out‑of‑school‑time slots across the county.
“Raising Travis County is our community’s commitment to our children,” Travis County Judge Andy Brown said, summarizing the program’s goal of expanding access and strengthening providers. County staff said the program will support infants through school-age youth and aims to reach families who work nontraditional hours.
Strategic adviser Leah Marnier announced contracts representing $6,500,000 in new commitments that the county will send to Commissioners Court for approval. She said the team will release a request for services (RFS) next month to expand out‑of‑school‑time slots — representing a $9,000,000 annual commitment — and that an additional child‑care RFS in spring will total a little over $2,000,000 per year to build quality and capacity. Marnier also noted $21,000,000 in childcare contracts were approved by the court in October and that the county is negotiating an interlocal agreement with the City of Austin projected at $3,000,000 per year to be considered by both bodies in January 2026.
County staff described several specific near‑term investments: a signed contract with Workforce Solutions that county staff said will expand access to slots for infants and toddlers and place 1,000 children off the existing waitlist; Project Apple Blossom, which will provide half‑day pre‑K and half‑day child care to up to 216 children through AISD; two new Early Head Start infant classrooms through Child Inc; and gap payments to minimize competition with federal scholarships. Megan Robinson, senior planner for child care, said Workforce Solutions is on track to begin dispersing gap payments in mid‑November, backdated to Sept. 1, and that the 1,000 additional scholarships should be online by January.
Officials emphasized accountability and evaluation. Marnier said the county is drafting a long‑term implementation plan, will present planning updates to Commissioners Court, is hiring a dedicated data and evaluation staffer and expects to procure a third‑party evaluator to monitor outcomes.
Organizers also described community engagement and governance: a Community Advisory Council (CAC) of geographically and experientially diverse residents will begin meeting Nov. 19; CAC members will serve staggered two‑ or three‑year terms; and staff are procuring multilingual survey and engagement platforms and producing a digital report of prior input for the program website.
The county launched a Raising Travis County website and approved branding for the initiative; communications lead Paloma Gray said the site and an end‑of‑quarter newsletter will be primary channels for updates. The county encouraged families and providers to follow Travis County channels and to use contact information posted in the chat to sign up for email updates.
Next procedural steps announced at the town hall: the $6.5 million in contracts will be posted to Commissioners Court for approval the next day, the out‑of‑school‑time RFS will be released next month, and additional childcare procurements will follow in the spring.
