Leslie Rodriguez, a toddler teacher in Texas, is still waiting to learn whether she can afford care for her own baby, even though state law says workers like her should be prioritized for financial assistance.
Her case highlights the strain on a system meant to help working parents pay for child care, according to local news outlet KERA.
Here's what to know
More than 190,000 kids in Texas are waiting on state financial assistance meant to subsidize child care costs, according to the local outlet, and that includes Rodriguez's four-month-old son, Adriel.
While her family's application is pending, Rodriguez has been able to bring him with her to work at the First Presbyterian Church of Dallas' Day School. But even getting approved may not be enough to eliminate the problem of child care costs.
Rodriguez told KERA News that infant care at her school costs $1,700 a month, and she believes a subsidy would cover only about $1,000. So even with a system meant to prioritize child care workers for financial support, she could still have to pay a significant portion herself.
That gap would be roughly $700 each month, a difficult expense for a family already balancing major costs.
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"Right now [the school is] letting me [bring him to work]. But … what if I can't afford it and I'm obligated to be like, 'Well, I have to stay back for him,' because if I don't, who else?" she posed to KERA.
Per an email the Texas Workforce Commission sent the outlet, the number of families receiving assistance depends on available state and federal funding.
From early 2024 to early 2025, "the number of children on state-run waitlists for child care subsidies nearly doubled," according to recent reporting from The Hechinger Report looking at the situation nationwide.
More background
Tori Mannes, whose organization manages Dallas County's child care assistance program, said the subsidy shortfall is especially pronounced for infant care.
She told KERA that offering quality infant care can cost about $400 a week, while the subsidy program may pay even top-rated providers only about $275 a week.
"And where do providers make that up? They make it up with low salaries for their workers. There has to be some give," Mannes told the local news.
That financial squeeze affects both staffing and access.
Low pay contributes to turnover, making it tougher to keep experienced educators, and some centers limit subsidized admissions because too many can destabilize their budgets.
That means a family that qualifies for aid can still struggle to find a provider, a crisis plaguing much of the country.
What's being done?
Some schools keep participating in subsidy programs anyway.
Cynthia Grady, director of the school where Rodriguez works, told KERA that helping families who use assistance has long been part of the school's mission, even though it costs.
"We literally make no money," Grady told the news outlet. "I'm gonna be honest with you. There is no income in this. When we say nonprofit, we're literally a nonprofit."
The school has also tried to preserve teacher pay and benefits, which can support retention. But many staff still face tough situations.
Analysis from the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment at the University of California, Berkeley, documented in 2024 that "child care workers in every state struggle with poverty-level wages, even as they nurture and educate our children in the most important years of development."
"It's like, well, I'm working with kids, but now that I have a kid, am I gonna be left alone?" Rodriguez posed.
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