Tarrant County will lose 354 subsidized child care seats between 2026 and 2027, a 4.3% drop in capacity that local officials say reflects a statewide funding crunch rather than a local failure. The county's available seats will fall from 8,217 this year to 7,863 in 2027, even as its overall child care program budget inches up by less than 1%, from just under $96 million to $96.8 million.
The reduction traces back to an August 11 vote by the Texas Workforce Commission, which cut the statewide Child Care Services program by 9.5%, eliminating roughly 14,000 subsidized seats across Texas as fourth-quarter budget adjustments take hold, according to The Texas Tribune. As reported by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, most regional workforce boards statewide are being forced to cut between 80 and 1,900 seats apiece, even as more than 100,000 Texas children remain on waiting lists for child care scholarships.
A One-Time Windfall Runs Dry
The roots of the shortfall go back to 2025, when Texas lawmakers approved a one-time $100 million investment meant to stretch child care scholarship funding through 2026 and 2027. That money was supposed to reach more families, but inflation and rising provider costs burned through it far faster than lawmakers anticipated, per the Tribune's reporting. The Texas median market child care rate has climbed 7.3% even as program funding has grown only about 2% overall, according to Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County's Max Rombado, who was quoted by the Star-Telegram.
“Funding growth has lagged behind child care costs,” Rombado said, per the Star-Telegram's report. Rombado called on state lawmakers to continue investing in child care as the 2027 legislative session approaches in January, proposing either a renewed $100 million allocation or tapping general revenue or the state's rainy-day fund to cover the gap.
Why Families Rely on the Subsidy
Child care in Texas costs more than $10,000 per year on average, the Star-Telegram reports, a price tag that puts unsubsidized care out of reach for many working parents. In the Dallas-Fort Worth metro specifically, licensed center-based infant care now averages $1,180 per month, notably higher than the $1,057 statewide average, according to Hoodline's reporting on Dallas-Fort Worth cost trends.
Rombado described child care access as something that provides both workforce participation for parents and quality care for children starting from six weeks of age, according to the Star-Telegram. Child Care Associates, which contracts with Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County to disburse local subsidies, acknowledged the financial pressure now falling on both families and providers. President and CEO Kara Waddell said the organization remains committed to supporting families and child care providers, per the same Star-Telegram account.
State Oversight Tightens as Funding Shrinks
The cuts arrive alongside a broader state push to scrutinize child care spending. Governor Greg Abbott directed the Texas Workforce Commission and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission in January to launch statewide investigations into potential child care funding fraud and tighten oversight of local workforce boards, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. Abbott also launched a Task Force on Early Childhood Education and Care under House Bill 117 that same month, appointing business executive Peter J. Holt to review overlapping child care governance among the Workforce Commission, the Texas Education Agency, and the Health and Human Services Commission, per the Office of the Texas Governor.
The Texas Workforce Commission did not respond to the Star-Telegram's requests for comment on the cuts, and Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County referred the paper's questions to the state agency as well. Under current fiscal year 2026 eligibility rules, single parents must work or attend job training at least 25 hours per week, while two-parent households need a combined 50 hours, and family income cannot exceed 85% of the State Median Income, capped at $6,443 monthly for a family of three.
The Economic Toll Beyond the Waitlist
The stakes extend well beyond individual families' schedules. An October 2023 report from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation estimated that child care breakdowns cost the Texas economy $9.4 billion annually, including $1.8 billion in lost state tax revenue and $7.59 billion in employer losses tied to absences and turnover, a figure the Star-Telegram cited in its own coverage. The 2026 Board Contract Year allocation approved by the state in July 2025 had set aside $1.436 billion for child care services statewide, an 8.9% increase meant to support roughly 148,000 children daily before this month's rollback.
In Arlington, the Center for Transforming Lives' Arlington Child Development Center, which partners with the University of Texas at Arlington, illustrates how local institutions are trying to fill gaps in the system. UTA separately offers its own child care tuition scholarship application for full-time students. Tarrant County College also announced in January that it will launch its first hybrid bachelor's degree program in early childhood education this fall, an effort aimed at training and retaining local child care educators, as Tarrant County's new degree push shows amid ongoing staffing shortages in the field, Hoodline reported.
With the 2027 program year set to begin October 1, following the close of the current cycle on September 30, families and providers across Tarrant County now face a narrower window of subsidized options just as the state's next legislative session looms. Rombado's call for renewed investment reflects a broader statewide debate over whether Texas will restore emergency funding or leave local workforce boards to manage the shortfall on their own.
