DALLAS — Nearly 195,000 Texas children were on the state’s childcare assistance interest list in August 2025, a sharp increase from about 31,700 in 2020 as rising childcare costs and limited funding leave more families waiting for help.
Data from the Texas Workforce Commission, obtained by The Associated Press and shared with KERA from the National Women’s Law Center, show the number of children on the list more than doubled from 66,410 in 2023 to 194,892 in August 2025.
The Texas Workforce Commission oversees federal funding that subsidizes childcare for eligible families.
Tori Mannes, president and CEO of ChildCareGroup, which administers the childcare assistance program in Dallas County, said the growing interest list reflects increasing difficulty for families to afford childcare.
Families can join the interest list before the state determines whether they meet the program’s eligibility requirements. Once funding becomes available, applicants must provide information about their income, employment and other qualifications.
Mannes said some families may no longer need assistance or may no longer qualify when the state contacts them.
A family of four can earn about $92,000 a year and remain within the program’s income limit this year. However, eligible families may still wait several months or as long as a year for their applications to be processed, Mannes said.
Families in certain priority groups, including children experiencing homelessness, children in foster care and children of childcare workers, may receive assistance sooner.
Mannes said insufficient funding remains the primary reason for the lengthy wait.
Temporary federal childcare relief provided billions of dollars to states during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing them to expand assistance. Much of that funding has expired as childcare providers face higher operating costs.
Texas lawmakers allocated $100 million in unused federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds last year for childcare scholarships. The Texas Workforce Commission initially estimated that the funding could help about 10,000 additional children over two years.
Mannes said rising costs have instead absorbed most of the funding.
She also said higher costs partly reflect the growing number of providers participating in Texas Rising Star, the state’s childcare quality-rating program. Providers with higher ratings receive higher reimbursement rates.
Dominique McCain, CEO of Dallas nonprofit Educational First Steps, said childcare providers also face increased expenses for food, utilities and staffing.
The Texas Workforce Commission sets enrollment targets according to available funding and childcare costs. As those costs increase, the same amount of funding covers fewer children.
In Dallas County, the number of children expected to receive childcare assistance could decline by more than 1,000 next year.
McCain also warned that potential reductions in federal Head Start services could further increase demand for subsidized childcare as affected families seek other assistance.
“Those families now have to get on the subsidized list,” McCain said. “The wait list grows even more.”