Item #2 Austin-Travis County Family Child Care Educator Network Presentation — original pdf

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Austin-Travis County Family Child Care Educator Network TUESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2025 HISPANIC/LATINO QUALITY OF LIFE RESOURCE ADVISORY COMMISSION CAITLIN OLIVER, AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH Planning grant $25,000 grant from Home Grown, called the “Building Comprehensive Networks (BCN)” grant In 2024, we planned a comprehensive support network for home-based/family child care providers in Austin-Travis County. The Austin-Travis County Family Child Care Educator Network will include supports for all types of home-based providers: Licensed • Registered Listed • • • Family, Friend, & Neighbor (FFN) Home-based child care (HBCC) Nationwide, 40% of infants and toddlers attend HBCC Parents choose home-based care because the provider: Shares their culture Speaks their home language • Offers the most affordable option • Offers child care during non-traditional hours such as evenings, overnight, and weekends Is a trusted member of the community, a friend, a family member, or a neighbor Lives close to their home • • • • Texas Early Childhood Workforce • • • • 85% of early childhood educators in Texas make less than a living wage. In Texas, the median wage of an early childhood educator is $12.00 per hour. Early childhood educators at child care programs that accept subsidies make less than those who work for child care programs that do not. • Compared to White early childhood educators, Hispanic early childhood educators earn significantly less regardless of education, experience, or location. 7 in 10 early childhood educators who work full time do not receive health insurance from their employer. • Half do not have access to paid sick leave. Source: PN3PIC_Workgroup-Recommendationsto-Informthe-2022StrategicPlan.pdf (pn3policy.org) Home-based child care providers 43.3 34.6 23.3 28.6 27.8 26.7 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 3.3 3 0.8 0 2.7 2.3 3 0 Owner-Educators Educators • All home-based providers (Licensed, registered, listed, FFN) • Geographic Region: City of Austin and Travis County Target Population Outputs • Year 1: 50 home-based providers are network members • Year 2: 70 home-based providers are network members Long-term Outcomes/Impacts • Improved provider well-being • Improved economic well-being and sustainability • Improved home-based child care (HBCC) quality • Improved child health and development and family well-being Funding: • City of Austin program funds • Home Grown implementation grant Staffing: • City of Austin staff (including in-kind staffing) • Staff person with FCC experience Materials: • Business tools (e.g., Texas Child Care Tools) Physical space: • Space for network meetings Existing infrastructure: • Collaboration with United Way, GAVA, AVANCE Provider Voice: • Provider advisory committee • Other opportunities as they arise (e.g., feedback at trainings) Main activities in Year 1 Strengthening systems of support Peer mentor program Monthly meetings Trainings Resource sharing Financial relief grant program for eligible registered and licensed providers National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC) membership Connecting providers and families to resources 2025 (Year 1) Budget $75,000 implementation grant from Home Grown $75,000 from the City of Austin in matching funds, approved in fiscal year 2025 budget City of Austin in-kind staffing to support implementation of the network Majority of Year 1 funding will be used to hire a person to run the network and for the financial relief grant program. Additional funds are needed to fully fund the network in 2025 and expand the network in future years. Next steps ▪ Execute contract with Home Grown for the $75K implementation grant ▪ Economic Development Department to hire a network staff person ▪ Roll out financial relief grants for eligible home-based providers ▪ Form the Provider Advisory Committee ▪ Recruit network members Questions Cindy Gamez Program Manager, Economic Development Department Cynthia.Gamez@austintexas.gov Caitlin Oliver Early Childhood Program Coordinator, Austin Public Health Caitlin.Oliver@austintexas.gov