WSST Takes Part of the Frontline Child Care Initiative

Workforce Solutions for South Texas April 21, 2020

Child Care Providers are available for Essential Workers

LAREDO, Texas – April 2020 — Workforce Solutions for South Texas (WSST) is taking part in the Frontline Child Care initiative by providing essential workers with information related to child care services available in the South Texas area.

Essential workers are given priority to access child care services assistance. Essential workers include healthcare and pharmacy workers, first responders, workers in child care services that support workers in other essential functions; critical infrastructure workers in grocery, utilities, and trucking; and other identified infrastructure workers, which include critical state and local government staff; mail/delivery services; nursing homes, home health care, and other direct care providers; banks; gas stations; military; and restaurants and other food delivery.

Parents may qualify for financial assistance with child care services if they are employed as essential workers who require child care services to work, including those who are working from home, their family income is at or below 150% of the State Median Income, and the child is under age 13 (or 21 if disabled), has legal citizenship or immigration status, and resides with a family within the Workforce Solutions for South Texas service delivery area.

Please visit our website at www.southtexasworkforce.org and click on the “COVID-19 Image” then select “Child Care” option, parents will be able to access the forms to apply for child care services through Workforce Solutions for South Texas. The application form “COVID-19 Essential Worker Child Care Enrollment Form” is available in English and Spanish.

“Assistance with child care is a great opportunity to support our frontline workers in this critical time, where their duty to report to work does not sacrifice how their children will be taken care of,” Andrea De la Garza, Project Director at WSST said.

Other content available is the list of Child Care providers open in the South Texas area which includes Jim Hogg, Webb and Zapata counties. The list includes number of spaces available at each facility listed divided by age groups and contact information.

“Customers will have real-time information on open and available centers to help streamline the enrollment process, so they can report to work quicker with peace of mind that their children are being cared for,” De La Garza said.