Issues

The Person:

Growing up in Houston, my parents were not always able to afford child care. After my parents divorced, they had to figure out where I would attend school. I have vivid memories of my dad verbally processing where I would go after school that day and trying to make the logistics work in his head. My mom would sometimes take me to the hair salon where she worked.  This wasn’t convenient for her or for me. But she didn’t have any other alternative. My wife, Gloria, and her family also struggled with child care when she was growing up. Her mom would pick her up and they would go back to the home Gloria’s mom was cleaning. That’s where Gloria would do her homework until they went back home together. 

The Principle:

Children are a blessing from the Lord (Psalm 127:3) and the Bible is clear that children should be protected. We should be striving to create an environment where children are able to grow and maximize their potential. The primary responsibility to raise a child is a parent but the Bible is clear that this responsibility is not ONLY on the parent. 

The Problem:

In Texas, the annual cost of child care is often over $10,000 per child. Studies state that infant care for one child would take up 15.7% of a median family’s income in Texas. The Federal Government has defined “affordable child care” as being 7% or less of your income. The majority of families in Texas do not have access to affordable child care. And even if they can afford it, too many still can’t access  child care. Over 50% of counties in Texas are deemed child care deserts. Child care workers do not earn a living wage, with an average income of just  $26,000 a year. A weak child care system affects so many other industries as well. Almost 40% of small business owners reported that having to schedule work hours around their employee’s child care needs “negatively affected workers’ ability to fulfill job-related commitments.”

The Policy Proposal:

Your location or your income should not determine whether you are able to have child care for your family. I’ll fight for legislation that does the following:

1. Creates universal access to child care through the creation of a child care system that is supported by the federal government, but operated and run by local nonprofits, community-based organizations, and faith based institutions.

2. Ensures affordability by creating a cap of how much a family making under $250,000 a year has to pay for child care. 

3. Invests in child care workers, because they deserve a living wage for their caregiving work.

4. Honors parent preference by providing a variety of child care options such as: home based, faith-based, traditional daycare centers, among others.