Child Care Market Rate and Quality Care Survey
Project Overview
The Texas Child Care Survey is a project carried out by the Texas Institute for Child & Family Wellbeing and the Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources at The University of Texas at Austin under contract with the Texas Workforce Commission. The survey has two sections: the Texas Child Care Market Rate section and the Texas Child Care Cost of Quality section.
The objective of the Market Rate questions are to gather and report on the rates charged to the general public (or the “market rate”) for child care in each of the 28 local workforce development areas (LWDAs of Texas). The Child Care Cost of Quality questions are intended to explore the cost of providing quality child care in the State of Texas by estimating the price charged for higher-quality care under Texas Rising Star (TRS), for subsidized facilities, or other recognized sources of accreditation, for non-subsidized facilities, relative to other subsidized child care providers who are not TRS-certified or non-subsidized providers who are not accredited.
Reports for both projects will be submitted to the Texas Workforce Commission and Local Workforce Development Boards (LWDBs) to assess the cost of child care services available in local workforce development areas, and provide information on the cost of quality child care to inform Texas Rising Star programing.
FAQ The Survey (RCCH/LCCH) The Survey (LCCC)
Resources The Surveys in Spanish The Surveys in Vietnamese
About the Partnership
Texas Institute for Child & Family Wellbeing at the University of Texas at Austin (TXICFW)
Located within the School of Social Work and the Center for Social Work Research, the Texas Institute for Child & Family Wellbeing is a partnership of researchers committed to producing quality research to guide policy and social work practice for children and families. Researchers from TXICFW administer the survey each year by conducting over 3,000 interviews with child care providers.
Ray Marshall Center at the University of Texas at Austin (RMC)
Located within the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, the Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources provides an independent source of research and analysis on workforce development, education, and social issues. The Center partners with a range of stakeholders to conduct timely, relevant research and to translate that research into effective policies and programs. The Ray Marshall Center collaborates with CFRI to analyze data obtained from the survey..
Texas Workforce Commission (TWC)
The Texas Workforce Commission was created in 1995 when the Texas legislature passed its major welfare reform legislation, HB 1863. One of HB 1863’s provision consolidated a number of workforce programs, including subsidized childcare, under TWC. TWC provides subsidized child care for families in the TANF Choices (job-training) program and those transitioning from TANF. TWC contracts with CFRI to conduct the child care market rate survey each year.
Local Workforce Development Boards (LWDBs)
The 28 Local Workforce Development Boards are responsible for managing child care subsidy for low income families and other related programs. LWDBs set reimbursement rates for their local areas for different types of care and determine a family’s eligibility for child care subsidies based on the family’s income.