By Dylan Villa | Sourced by KCBD

Published: May 21, 2025 at 5:58 PM EDT | Updated: May 21, 2025 at 7:18 PM EDT

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Texas House Bill 500, which is currently pending in the Senate Finance Committee, would add an additional $100 million to the state budget for child care subsidies.

It’s something Amanda McAfee, president of Lubbock Area United Way, says would be a big help for parents here in Texas.

“We’ve seen so many parents drop out of the workforce because of the cost of child care,” McAfee said. “On average in Texas, the cost of child care is more than the cost of in-state tuition.”

That’s just one of the many issues currently adding to the Texas child care crisis. McAfee says those costs are putting some children’s futures on hold.

“Currently across Texas, 95,000 kids are on the waiting list for a child care subsidy.”

Data from the Texas Association for the Education of Young Children shows an estimated 660 kids from across the South Plains are on the waiting list for the Texas Workforce Commission’s child care scholarship. McAfee says getting those numbers to dwindle will push families in the right direction.

“Now mom, dad, caregiver can get to work, can be adding to our economy,” McAfee said. “All those help wanted signs we continue to see in our community, some of those will get filled.”

McAfee says if kids aren’t set up in the right place to succeed, it could make life harder for them down the road.

“The brain grows more in the first five years of life than the entire rest of development,” McAfee said. “This is when a child is learning the most and if they don’t have a strong educational environment at that point in time, then they’re not going to be ready to go into kindergarten.”

Other challenges Texas child care is seeing include limited funding to pay workers and businesses needing high-quality child care to recruit a reliable workforce.

Lubbock Area United Way is doing its part by doing public policy work and determine which policies really benefit the community.

With so many organizations onboard with this bill, McAfee says this addition to funding could give many families the push they need to give their children a thriving future.

“Every family needs to have the opportunity to make sure they feel like their kids are safe,” McAfee said. “Feel like their kiddos are learning and feel like they’re ready to be successful in school and the rest of life.”

If the bill does get passed, it could take approximately 10,000 children off the waiting list right away.