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The Texas Workforce Commission’s (TWC) largest program is it’s child care program, representing nearly half of its $1.7B budget. Recently revamped in 2015, Texas Rising Star is a quality rating and improvement system for childcare programs participating in TWC’s subsidized childcare program. Large federal influxes of funding for childcare have been directed to Texas Rising Star. TWC is interested in understanding this program’s impact and would like to use our services to refine the program to serve Texas’s parents better.
- Policy question: How do childcare providers participating in Texas Rising Star impact child outcomes like school readiness? What regional, economic, and demographic factors interact with TRS outcomes for children and families?
- Our services: We designed a quasi-experimental study that merges TWC data on families that receive the childcare subsidy and childcare providers that participate in TRS with education data from the Texas Education Agency.
- Results and impact: This evaluation is in its early stages. We anticipate findings will inform future program design and distribution of funds for TRS program activities and reimbursement rates.