In a tell-all session with the Fort Worth City Council, Kara Waddell, president and CEO of Child Care Associates, laid out the significant headway made in enhancing early child care services in Fort Worth and Tarrant County since the onset of the pandemic, as reported by the City of Fort Worth.

A 16-member Blue Ribbon Action Committee on Child Care, which came together in January 2022, is now seeing the fruits of its labor with six new early childhood facilities slated to open in Tarrant County areas starving for quality daycare options. These will include venues like Las Vegas Trail and both the Northwest and Southwest campuses of Tarrant County Community College, aiming to facilitate the care of 928 kids. Waddell explained the development during the council meeting, but without diving into the gritty specifics of each location's operational logistics, according to the City of Fort Worth.

The Prime Early Learning Pilot was also a highlight of Waddell's presentation, which has injected foundational grant money into 19 programs in high-need zones, boosting infrastructure and nudging teacher pay to a minimum of $18 per hour.

Looking ahead, the North Texas Early Educator Workforce Study is set to take a statistical magnifying glass to the area's current and future need for early educators. Thanks to financial backing from philanthropic entities, and they're not stopping there. A mixed-delivery pre-K scheme is also in the pipeline, designed to mesh with public pre-K to offer a full-day child care solution for those families juggling work commitments. Waddell emphasized the far-reaching implications of child care, declaring to council members, "We recognize more and more that child care is an economic development issue, a workforce development issue, an education issue," highlighting the sector's overarching relevance, as per the City of Fort Worth.