Child Care Services Guide - H-100: Promoting Consumer Education

Workforce Development Boards (Boards) must promote informed child care choices by providing consumer education information to the following:

• Parents who are eligible for child care services
• Parents who are placed on a Board’s waiting list
• Parents who are no longer eligible for child care services
• Applicants who are not eligible for child care services

Boards must ensure that consumer education information, including consumer education information provided through a Board’s website, contains, at a minimum:

• Information about the Texas Information and Referral Network/2-1-1 Texas (2-1-1 Texas)
• The website and telephone number of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, so parents can obtain health and safety requirements, including information on:
  • The prevention and control of infectious diseases (including immunizations)
  • Building and physical premises safety
  • Minimum health and safety training appropriate to the provider setting
  • The regulatory compliance history of child care providers
  • A description of the full range of eligible child care providers set forth in F-101:Eligible Child Care Providers
• A description of programs available in the local workforce development area relating to school readiness and quality rating systems, including:
  • Texas Rising Star (TRS) provider criteria described in Part I
  • Integrated school readiness models, pursuant to Texas Education Code §29.160
• A list of child care providers that meet quality indicators, pursuant to Texas Government Code §2308.3171

- Rule Reference: §809.15

Workforce Development Boards (Boards) must be aware that Texas Government Code §2308.3171:

• Provides Boards with the flexibility to identify local child care programs that have achieved any other measurable target relevant to improving the quality of child care in Texas  
• Requires Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) approval of an identified program as a “quality child care indicator”

Boards also must be aware that child care providers requesting TWC approval of their programs as meeting a quality child care indicator will be required by TWC to demonstrate that the programs meet an established set of criteria developed by an independent accrediting entity, as follows:

• Programs are required to meet at least one of the following criteria:
  • Standard curriculum and activities
  • Group size and teacher/child ratios that are higher than minimum licensing requirements;
  • Director and teacher training requirements that are higher than minimum licensing requirements
  • Family involvement activities
  • Child outcomes/school readiness
• The independent accrediting entity will be required to:
  • Have an established history of developing research-based criteria for determining that child care providers accredited by the entity meet quality measures
  • Have an established process for evaluating child care providers against the quality measures
  • Document that an independent evaluator approved by the accrediting entity has certified the child care provider as meeting the criteria for certification
  • Conduct the certification or accreditation at least every five years

To request TWC approval of a program to be included as a quality child care indicator, Boards must send the request to wfpolicy.clarifications@twc.state.tx.us.    

Boards must be aware that TWC will notify the Board and the provider requesting the designation of meeting a quality child care indicator upon approval or denial of the quality criteria and the accrediting entity.

If TWC approves the criteria and the accrediting entity, before adding the provider to the list of quality indicators, Boards must confirm that the provider also meets the minimum health and safety licensing criteria outlined in the appropriate TRS Provider Certification Prescreening Form.

As part of consumer education on child care quality indicators, Workforce Development Boards must cooperate with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to provide 2-1-1 Texas with information, as determined by HHSC, for inclusion in the statewide information and referral network.

- Rule Reference: §809.15

As described in B-202: Coordination of Child Care Services with School Districts, Head Start and Early Head Start, consumer education information provided to parents must include the following contact information for applicants and families whose subsidized child care is being terminated:

• Child care resource and referral agencies serving the relevant community
• Other providers of information and referrals serving the relevant community
• When appropriate, the administrator of the local independent school district’s prekindergarten or the Head Start program serving the relevant community