While raising her four children at home in Fort Worth, LeDeja LeDay thinks about what her life would be like if she had a daycare center to drop them off at.
“If I had that help, I would definitely work eight to five, something where I could work while my kids were in school or daycare,” said LeDay, 27. “And I also want to finish school, because I want to be a veterinarian.”
Instead, she stays home to care for her children, ages 4, 5, 7 and 11, while remaining on a waiting list for daycare.
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Many families are in a similar situation in Dallas-Fort Worth, where at least 20 ZIP codes are considered “child care deserts,” with only about 12 high-quality child care spots available for every 100 low-income working families, according to data compiled by the nonprofit Children at Risk.
There are more than 3,580 child care operations in North Texas, including daycare centers, after-school programs and private homes.
Together, they have the capacity to serve about 322,595 children up to 13 years old, according to data from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.
That’s less than a quarter of the spaces needed to meet the needs of North Texas families.
Dallas County alone has nearly 35,000 children under the age of 5 living in low-income families, and more than 97,000 people between the ages of 5 and 17 living in poverty.
According to Census estimates, in 2022 there were more than 1.4 million children ages 14 and younger in Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, Denton, Kaufman, and Rockwall counties, and of those, more than 451,000 were under age 5.
“As a single mother, I feel like we don’t have enough resources to take care of the kids,” LeDay said. “We could do a little better.”
Uptown Dallas resident Ona Hendrix experienced the shortage firsthand when she was looking for daycare for her 3-year-old.
“I wasn’t just looking for a daycare center to look after my children or a place to have them while I was at work,” she said.
Hendrix was looking for a daycare that had a stimulating environment, as she pays special attention to curriculum, activities and safety measures.
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But finding one that met all those requirements meant driving longer distances from home and work, he said.
“I would have to start loading the kids into the car at 7:00, 6:45 a.m.,” Hendrix said.
After visiting about eight child care centers, she decided on Brasswell Child Development Center, which is conveniently located and where she had already had one child before.
She was able to pay for it after receiving a grant from Dallas County, which covers about 80 percent of her tuition.
But Hendrix is the exception.
Only one in four low-income working families in the Dallas-Fort Worth area receives subsidized child care.
That’s 7% less than what was delivered in 2022 and 15% less than the state average.
For her part, LeDay says she has been on a Tarrant County waiting list for child care for more than two years, which has prevented her from finding regular employment and improving her economic situation.
In the meantime, the family lives off a Supplemental Security Income check to pay rent and living expenses, and LeDay earns extra money by making food or grocery deliveries.
“They told me that as long as I’m looking for work, they can help me with daycare,” she said. “That’s what I’ve been doing, but they haven’t told me anything yet.”
Statewide, about 333 ZIP codes are classified as child care deserts, a term that describes an area with very few child care centers or available spaces, according to Children at Risk.
When it comes to low-income working families, the number of child care deserts is almost double.
The hardest hit areas are West Dallas and Terrell in Kaufman County, where there are no available spots.
Some areas of northern Fort Worth and Grand Prairie appear to have between 15 and 33 child care spots per 100 children of working families.
Although the 76140 ZIP code where LeDay lives is not considered a child care desert by the organization, the lack of affordable options affects her family.
That area has approximately 62 childcare places for every 100 children from working families.
On the other hand, ZIP codes in more affluent communities like Frisco, McKinney and Denton have some of the most extensive child care options in the metro area, with as many as 81 providers per ZIP code, according to data from Texas Health and Human Services.
There is a surplus of places in these areas relative to the number of children from working families, according to Children at Risk.
The lack of options for the state’s working parents should be a priority for Texas lawmakers next year, said Kim Kofron, education director for Children at Risk.
“We are talking about deserts, which are a real problem for working families,” Kofron said.
The organization has been analyzing the availability of child care in the state since 2017.
Each year, the agency updates a map showing the postal zones where these services are scarce, in order to raise awareness of the need to allocate more resources.
“I’ve heard parents of all income levels say they are choosing not to return to the workforce because they can’t find child care,” she added.
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In April, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick tasked senators with finding ways to increase Texas worker productivity, among other priorities.
Among other things, he directed them to study the availability of child care, which is a mainstay of Texas’ growing workforce, according to his acting aides.
LeDeja LeDay is pictured with her daughters Lailani, 7 (from left), Lovey, 4, Layla, 5, and Londynn, 11, outside her home, Tuesday, July 23, 2024, in Fort Worth.(Elías Valverde II / Staff Photographer)
LeDay says she is grateful for the education she has been able to obtain for her children since living in North Texas.
Originally from Lake Charles, Louisiana, she said she was drawn to the jobs and school districts in the area.
She was recently accepted into Dallas College to begin her studies in August, but since she hasn’t been able to find childcare for her children, her plans are on hold.
“It’s frustrating for me because I’m one of those people who likes to work. I want to go to work and then come home,” he said. “I’m hoping that something will be achieved.”
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