Primary Department: County Administration
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Erical Lee Carter, County Administrator
Secondary Department: N/A
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official: N/A
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Transmittal
Project ID (if applicable): N/A
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A - Not a grant item
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Transmittal by the Office of County Administration of an update describing the progress of coordination across departments working on the Early Childcare motions passed at the June 11, 2026, Commissioners Court.
end
Background and Discussion:
This item provides Commissioners Court with the status update requested following the June 11, 2026, Court motions on Early Childhood (EC) initiatives; below are the motions approved at Court. This update summarizes progress to date, current challenges, and the status of key deliverables.
Motion 1: To direct DEEO to work with Precincts 2 and 4 to monitor and evaluate U of H SURE and SURE+ pilot programs to identify best practices and components to inform a county led childcare business accelerator, with DEEO providing quarterly updates to OCA and Court offices with a draft recommendation to Commissioners Court by December 17th; and that OCA coordinate across all departments and transmit a status update to Court by September 17th.
Motion 2: That OCA finalize and post the OCA-drafted Simple Provider Guide that explains County permitting, fire review, inspections, and common delays; and that OCA coordinate communications across departments to better connect families with available early childhood education and care resources, using existing County touchpoints.
Expected Impact:
Continued coordination of EC-related initiatives across the County, improving service delivery to families.
Alternative Options:
N/A
County Strategic Plan Goal: 3. Make our economy more inclusive.
County Strategic Plan Objective: K: Provide workers with training and other supports (e.g. child care) to participate fully in the local economy.
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1): N/A
Infrastructure Initiative (Goal 2): N/A
Economy Initiative (Goal 3): N/A
Health Initiative (Goal 4): N/A
Climate/Resilience Initiative (Goal 5): N/A
Housing Initiative (Goal 6): N/A
Additional notes related to the Strategic Plan:
Prior Court Action (if any):
|
Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
|
06/11/26 |
330 |
• To direct DEEO to work with Precincts 2 and 4 to monitor and evaluate U of H SURE and SURE+ pilot programs to identify best practices and components to inform a county led child care business accelerator, with DEEO providing quarterly updates to OCA and Court offices with a draft recommendation to Commissioners Court by December 17th; and • That OCA coordinate across all departments and transmit a status update to Court by September 17th. |
|
06/11/26 |
344 |
• That OCA finalize and post the OCA-drafted Simple Provider Guide that explains County permitting, fire review, inspections, and common delays; and • That OCA coordinate communications across departments to better connect families with available early childhood education and care resources, using existing County touchpoints. |
|
04/16/26 |
307 & 320 |
• To direct the Department of Economic Equity and Opportunity, in partnership with key stakeholders and Court offices who elect to offer seed funding through FY26, to create an Early Child Care Business Accelerator to help providers grow and operate sustainably. This program should offer mentoring and business support with the goal of expanding available childcare seats and improving compliance. It should also evaluate how existing DEEO resources can support the effort and transmit in initial assessment to Commissioners Court by June 11, 2026; • To direct the Office of County Administration, working with relevant departments, to review how childcare providers interact with the County. This includes applicable regulations, processes, timelines, and associated costs, and transmit the assessment to Commissioners Court by June 11, 2026; • To direct the Office of County Administration, working with the relevant departments, to review how the County already connects with families with young children, identify gaps in outreach and awareness of child care, early learning, and other related resources, develop a plan to improve access and participation, and transmit the assessment to Commissioners Court by June 11, 2026; • To direct IGA to evaluate early childhood education and care advocacy opportunities to develop recommendations for state-level advocacy, and return with priority recommendations by the June 11, 2026, Commissioners Court. |
Location:
Address (if applicable):
Precinct(s): Countywide
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Anticipated Court Date: 9/17/2026
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): Click or tap to enter a date.
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or ARPA related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Erica Lee Carter, County Administrator
Attachments (if applicable): Memo update