BRAZOS VALLEY, Texas (KRHD) — SB 1265 will create a "one-stop-shop" for childcare resources on the Texas Workforce Commission website. The new tool will help employers and employees find options available to meet childcare needs.
- Many service workers have non-traditional hours which sometimes create childcare issues, but there's a new resource being created to help.
- Texas Senate Bill 1265 will help workforce needs by creating a free online resource hub through the Texas Workforce Commission website. Those resources include finding childcare options and potential financial support.
- Kelsey Erickson Streufert, Chief Public Affairs Officer for the Texas Restaurant Association, tells 15 ABC that being able to provide more resources to families is going to help them individually and also help employers who are seeking more workers.
- There were several childcare-related bills that passed, like Texas House Bill 117, which forms the Governor’s Task Force on Early Childhood Governance. That group will explore long-term structural improvements to our state’s childcare system.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
“All summer it's a 12 week thing," Amy Pappe, a mother and Catering Manager at Napa Flats, said.
For Pappe and her husband, summer break creates a juggling act.
“We had to kind of figure out what we're gonna do with our child during that time because we both have full time jobs," said Pappe.
While a short-term adjustment for Pappe, she knows that is not the case for everyone.
“Some single parents have to work at night…so finding people who can take care of our children at night is something that's very important," said Pappe.
Napa Flats is a wood-fired kitchen in College Station that is no stranger to childcare challenges.
“We have the flexibility, but you know we have to be able to offer them opportunities that they can take care of their their children," Tom Kenney, Owner of Napa Flats, said.
It’s an issue the restaurant industry is all too familiar with due to non-traditional hours.
15 ABC asked Kenney how childcare impacts their operations.
“If you have children, one has to either not work as much or they have to work their whole life around figuring out how to take care of the young children, so that's an ongoing challenge and, you know, we need to offer opportunities for them to be able to work because that will make our industry stronger.”
Texas Senate Bill 1265 is awaiting the governor's signature. Once in place, it will create a free online resource hub through the Texas Workforce Commission website.
“The idea behind this bill was really, let's give them one place that's free, it's got different resources, we can update it regularly, and so it's an easy step for employers and employees to take to just get connected with the options that are already available," Kelsey Erickson Streufert, Chief Public Affairs Officer for the Texas Restaurant Association, said.
Those resources include finding childcare options and financial support.
“So if an employer is willing to offer a program, they might be able to get federal tax credits to help offset that cost," said Erickson Streufert. "Many employers don't even know those options exist, and so putting that information in one place will make it a lot easier for businesses and employees to take advantage of those resources.”
