ARLINGTON, TX — For student-parents juggling academics and family life, Tarrant County colleges are stepping up with a lifeline: on-site child care programs designed to ease the burden and keep educational dreams within reach. At the forefront is the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), where the Arlington Child Development Center has become a game-changer for students like Takashja Ivory, offering affordable care and financial assistance. This initiative, alongside efforts from other local institutions, underscores a growing recognition of child care as a critical factor in student success, particularly in a region where the cost of care often outpaces college tuition.
A Haven for Learning—For All Ages
Nestled at 1120 UTA Blvd., the Arlington Child Development Center serves children from 6 weeks to 5 years old, prioritizing UTA students and staff with up to 35 slots in fall and spring semesters, and 20 in the summer. Tuition, which averages less than $100 a week with financial aid, is a bargain compared to the $647 monthly average for child care in Fort Worth, as reported by CareLuLu in a 2021 Fort Worth Star-Telegram analysis. Eligible UTA students can tap into scholarships through the university, a resource that proved transformative for Takashja Ivory, a student-parent who spent over a year on the state’s subsidy waitlist of 78,000 children before securing a spot. “Without this center and the scholarship, I don’t know if I’d still be here,” Ivory told the Star-Telegram last month, crediting the program for her ability to persist through the semester.
UTA isn’t alone in addressing this need. The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth operates its Early Learning Center for the same age group, while Tarrant County College (TCC) offered child care assistance through the federal Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) program from 2019 to 2024, though that funding ended in August 2024, per the TCC website. TCC is now exploring new financial support options, reflecting a broader push across Tarrant County to support student-parents amidst a national child care crisis.
Why It Matters: Breaking Barriers to Education
The stakes are high in Tarrant County, where the demand for early childhood educators is surging—projected to grow by 17% in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex over the next four years, according to a recent Fort Worth Report article. Yet, the region also grapples with systemic child care challenges: a state waitlist of 80,000 children for subsidies, gaps in specialized care, and costs that rival in-state college tuition, as noted in a 2024 Star-Telegram report on child care reform. For student-parents, these barriers can mean the difference between graduating and dropping out.
Programs like UTA’s not only provide practical relief but also signal a cultural shift. “Child care is an essential service that fuels economic growth,” said Rep. Chris Turner, one of the few Tarrant County lawmakers vocal on the issue, in a 2024 statement to the Star-Telegram. The sentiment echoes a broader call for reform, with over 120 Texas groups advocating for policy changes to address the sector’s woes, including a $9.4 billion annual economic loss due to child care issues, per a U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation study cited in a November 2024 Star-Telegram article.
A Community Effort with Room to Grow
Beyond UTA, local initiatives are making strides. Tarrant County’s partnership with Child Care Associates has led to tax exemptions for 85 of 145 eligible providers as of July 2024, saving centers money to bolster staff wages and keep tuition affordable, according to the Star-telegram. Meanwhile, Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County offers Child Care Services (CCS) scholarships, though new applications are paused as the Texas Workforce Commission transitions to a new system, Texas Child Care Connection (TX3C), per Tarrant County CCMS.
Still, gaps remain. Texas Christian University (TCU), despite a 2019 Graduate Student Senate report highlighting the need, offers no traditional on-campus child care, though its KinderFrogs school supports children with developmental delays. As federal programs like CCAMPIS face uncertainty under recent executive orders, the burden falls on local institutions to innovate—a challenge Tarrant County colleges are meeting with determination, if not yet at scale.
For students like Ivory, these efforts are more than policy—they’re a pathway to a better future. As Tarrant County continues to build on these foundations, the message is clear: supporting student-parents isn’t just about child care; it’s about investing in the next generation of leaders.
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