What is causing the childcare desert crisis in Houston? Here’s what we know

HOUSTON, Texas – Are you familiar with the concept of “food desert”? If not, it refers to an area with inadequate access to fresh foods. Houston has several of these areas. Building upon this idea, experts at Child Care Aware and Center for American Progress have introduced the term “child care deserts” to describe another critical resource that is limited in availability.

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Childcare deserts are areas where there is a significant number of young children who are not yet old enough for public school, but there are insufficient childcare providers to meet the demand.

Children at Risk identified the following four types of childcare deserts:

• Child Care Deserts – Zip codes (US Census ZCTAs) with at least 30 children, ages 0-5, where the demand for child care (the number of children, ages 0-5, with working parents) is three times greater or more than the supply of child care (licensed capacity of child care providers in the area).
• Subsidized Child Care Deserts – Zip codes with at least 30 low-income children, ages 0-5, where the demand for subsidized child care (the number of children, ages 0-5, with working parents living below 200% of the Federal poverty line) is three times greater or more than the supply of subsidized child care.
• Texas Rising Star Deserts – Zip codes with at least 30 low-income children, ages 0-5, where the demand for subsidized child care (the number of children, ages 0-5, with working parents living below 200% of the Federal poverty line) is three times greater or more than the supply of Texas Rising Star-certified child care.
• Texas Rising Star Level 4 Deserts – Zip codes with at least 30 low-income children, ages 0-5, where the demand for subsidized child care (the number of children, ages 0-5, with working parents living below 200% of the Federal poverty line) is three times greater or more than the supply of Texas Rising Star Level 4-certified child care.

View this map to see if your area is considered a childcare desert

Childcare deserts refer to areas where the demand for childcare significantly exceeds the supply or the number of available seats. Shockingly, approximately one-third of all zip codes in the greater Houston area are experiencing this crisis. This means that parents living in these areas have limited options for quality childcare services, leaving them in a state of vulnerability.

Finding affordable and accessible childcare is a challenge faced by many parents in Houston. According to Children at Risk, Texas is grappling with a significant shortage of childcare options, and this problem is particularly acute in certain areas of the city.