Texas Hoped $100 Million Would Help More Families Pay for Child Care. Here’s Why It Didn’t.

Texas hoped $100 million would help more families pay for child care. Here’s why it didn’t.

By Jess Huff, The Texas Tribune November 26, 2025 LUFKIN — Earlier this year, Texas made a major investment in its child care scholarship fund — $100 million, to be exact. That money, state lawmakers hoped, would provide an additional 10,000 scholarships to needy families and cut down the number of children waiting for assistance. That didn’t happen. In fact, as the year draws to a close, the number of Texas families seeking assistance from the …

Texas child care scholarship waitlist grows despite $100 million

Increased costs in food and payroll at child care centers effectively wiped out the one-time investment state lawmakers approved earlier this year, a new report found.