FORT WORTH (WBAP/KLIF)- As of April 8th, essential service workers in Tarrant County may apply online for financial assistance. This is following the Texas Workforce Commission’s (TWC) authorization of $2.5M in funds for Tarrant County in emergency funds that the Tarrant County Workforce Board will administer to implement emergency child care support using its current Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) funding. This emergency funding provides 3-months of financial assistance to cover direct costs associated with child care for essential service workers.
In an effort to remove barriers for working parents, TWC and the Tarrant County Workforce Board worked to simplify the Child Care Management Service (CCMS) application process for essential service workers removing the need to submit extensive documentation and a written signature (both previously required for non-emergency subsidy applications).
3 Step Process:
1. Parents launch online CCMS application, answer simplified screening questions (English or Spanish) and submit.
2. Using the FIND! child care search tool, parents find a child care provider that meets their child care needs.
3. Within 2 business days a CCMS case worker contacts the parent to verify eligibility and finalize the assistance.
This assistance is available to all Tarrant County CCMS child care providers who remain open during the COVID-19 period and/or those who choose to join CCMS as child care providers for essential service personnel/workers.
“Tarrant County understands how critical our child care providers are during the COVID-19 response. While there have been hurdles, the
collaborative approach in Tarrant County has alleviated the barriers for essential services. We appreciate their service to help keep children safe and healthy and enable their parents to provide essential services,” said Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley.
The Best Place for Kids Organization launched the FIND! tool in an effort to help working parents find quality and available child care options for their children while they meet essential workforce needs in Tarrant County. Currently, the FIND! child care search tool lists 7,500+ available licensed child care spots (for
children 0-12) across Tarrant County.
