LUBBOCK, Texas – The organization Children at Risk teamed up with other local organizations Thursday to talk about the importance of childcare in Texas at the Lubbock Area United Way Office.
According to Children at Risk, Texas received additional $230 million in funding for the Child Care Development Block Grant in 2018, but only about 10% of children in poverty are receiving related subsidy assistance.
Children at Risk also said 21 percent of children under the age of five living in Lubbock live in poverty.
Nneka Ibekew, Director, Early Education Research & Policy, said thinking about the quality of childcare is critical for a child’s development and academic achievement.
“We know that children or living in poverty, oftentimes are at a disadvantage when it comes to kindergarten. And so if we start to improve the quality of learning that happens prior to children get into kindergarten, we can make them better prepared,” she said.
Rosa Hernandez with Workforce Solutions South Plains said a lot of their childcare groups use Texas Rising Stars to certify as quality childcare providers.
“They will look at the interaction between the teacher and the child,” she said, “How many interactions, how many positive interactions, what kind of curriculum, are they using. Is it something that just preparing them to get into school, once they get there.”
