TPL’s role:
The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) partnered with the Texas Policy Lab to quantify the need for childcare among essential workers. TPL’s data scientists developed interactive features on this site, overlaying COVID-19 metrics to highlight areas heavily impacted both by the virus and by childcare shortages. The Texas Policy Lab also supported TWC in conducting ongoing analyses of enrollment rates in child care programs to understand the impact of COVID-19 on child care businesses.
Impact:
TPL has identified areas of the state in need of a greater child care supply. At each phase of reopening, this data informed the Governor’s Frontline Child Care Task Force and Strike Force to Open Texas. These analyses directed emergency child care investments to geographic regions with the largest gaps and led TWC to continue a 25% increase in reimbursement rate through the end of 2020 and dedicate federal funding to continue this enhanced rate. Ongoing enrollment rate analyses continue to inform child care business recovery efforts.
Sample deliverables:
Texas child care provider enrollment rates
Estimating Child Care Supply and Demand in Texas