AVANCE to build Shared Services Alliance for home child care providers

SAN ANTONIO - EntSun -- The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) and Texas Mutual came together to support AVANCE Inc. (AVANCE), a Texas-based non-profit specializing in supporting home child care providers (family child care), to establish a Shared Services Alliance across the state. AVANCE will use the funds to build a network to share resources that will enable home child care providers in Texas to operate more efficiently and establish systems that strengthen quality early care and education.

According to the Center for American Progress, costs for home child care providers in Texas have increased by 61% since the pandemic. Rising costs added to the problems of an already declining child care workforce, and the pandemic exacerbated the challenges that child care providers faced. The shared services initiative is critical because child care homes are the primary source of care for infants and are often more affordable for families, particularly for infant care. These providers, many of whom are women of color, are often left behind with less access to business and pedagogical support networks.

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Over several years, AVANCE has responded to the growing needs of home child care providers by providing culturally responsive training, mentoring, and coaching. With the support of TWC and local workforce boards, AVANCE established networks of child care homes in various cities across the state.

The total cost of the project is $1,574,701, with 95% ($1,499,701) of the project funded through federal dollars and the remaining 5% (75,000) from local philanthropy. With this new funding, AVANCE will further develop supports for home child care providers by building a Shared Services Alliance that will provide: pooled business services, pedagogical support, program planning support, and local coaching with access to centralized services, tech literacy and ongoing coaching. The goal of the alliance is to remove administrative barriers and increase the stability, profitability, and quality of child care homes. AVANCE worked alongside home child care providers to design the Alliance to ensure that it meets their needs.

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"We are grateful for the opportunity to continue to build relationships of trust and leverage them to support home child care providers across the state," said Dr. Teresa Granillo, AVANCE CEO. "We meet providers where they are, build on their strengths, honor their experience and voices, and take time to understand their unique needs. These efforts are critical because in addition to improving quality, they increase the economic mobility opportunities for not just providers, but also parents by giving them more options for proximal, affordable, and high-quality child care."

Established in 1973, AVANCE is a national non-profit dedicated to creating pathways to economic mobility for families through culturally-responsive, two-generation programming that ensures school-readiness for children and opportunities for parents to build social and economic capital. For more, visit www.avance.org.