City childcare subsidy keeps 200 slots for another year as 68 families wait for an opening

Dallas will keep paying for child care for about 200 children from working families over the next year, but the program already has a waiting list, according to city figures reported Wednesday by the Lake Highlands Advocate.

The City Council approved the Early Childhood and Out-of-School Time Services Program on Sept. 23. It is paid for with $550,537 in Community Development Block Grant money. The program covered 200 children from birth to age 12 in fiscal year 2025-26 and is set up for the same number in 2026-27, the city said.

The waiting list stood at 68 families on Oct. 1, according to the city's Office of Housing and Community Empowerment.

Who gets in first

Families already in the program are going through recertification now. Those who qualify again will carry over into the new fiscal year, and only after the city reviews the budget will it decide how many more children it can take, the office said.

Part of the grant pays for one full-time staff position. The rest will be spent based on how many children move into the new year, according to the housing office.

The city works with 14 child care providers, a mix of daycare centers and after-school programs.

"This program helps address a critical need for childcare for working families in the city," City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert said in a city press release. She said the council's vote showed its support for wider access to quality care and for helping Dallas parents hold on to jobs and school.

Sources

lakehighlands.advocatemag.com