Rose Guerrero remembers raising five children while trying to get her GED, often missing class due to the lack of extended day care hours.
“I have had to cut my work hours, drop out of classes and let go of great opportunities,” Guerrero said, recalling those days about 20 years ago. “I had few child care options with family and friends to care for my kids jumping from one place to another and sometimes there was no one available.”
Now pursuing a master’s degree in special education while caring for her 8-year-old grandson, she said assistance from the Texas Workforce Commission has allowed her to continue working and studying. Still, she said she believes extended child care options are needed.
El Paso lawmakers are trying to help working parents and caretakers like Guerrero, whose jobs aren’t 9-to-5, such as firefighters, police, health care workers and students. The lack of consistent child care often means missing work or delaying their education.
Legislation to support parents with nontraditional work hours
Two El Paso Democrats, state Rep. Claudia Ordaz and Sen. César Blanco, are proposing a Certified Caregiver Pilot Program in El Paso. This program would support licensed child care providers in offering care outside traditional hours, targeting low-income and single parents enrolled in short-term training programs through Workforce Solutions Borderplex.
If passed, the program would provide supplemental subsidized child care for up to six months, initially serving 30 families in El Paso. It would also fund training and certifications for caregivers.
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The lawmakers requested $450,000 in the state budget to compensate caregivers, according to Ordaz’s office.
While some providers informally offer extended care, the program creates a structured, funded system to expand accessibility.
To qualify, parents must already receive a child-care subsidy, live in a single-parent household, and have completed a certain number of postsecondary education credit hours.
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“El Paso, in particular, is a child care desert where parents struggle to find available child care options,” Ordaz said in a statement to El Paso Matters about her House Bill 2652.
“Workers in health care, service, manufacturing and other related industries who work early mornings, evenings, nights and weekends often have few, if any, child care options that meet their needs,” she said.
Blanco emphasized that the program in his Senate Bill 1249 aims to support parents seeking job training or career advancement.
“Many parents working in low-wage jobs want to take evening classes to gain new skills, but they struggle to find child care during those hours,” Blanco said in a statement. The program will give parents “a safe and affordable option so they can pursue better-paying jobs and improve their family’s financial stability.”
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After the pilot program ends, a report on the program’s effectiveness, including workforce training completion rates and costs, would be submitted inDecember 2028, with recommendations on whether to continue, expand or end the program. The program is set to expire on Sept. 1, 2029, unless it’s extended.
Workforce data highlights shortage
A study of the El Paso region by Workforce Solutions Borderplex found that 42% of parents reported being employed in a job that requires them to work after-hours shifts. However, of the 393 child care providers surveyed, only 23% offered after-hours care and only 11% provided weekend services.
The study also reported almost half of the employees observed had scheduling issues or called into work late due to a lack of after-hours child care options. Some reported up to 10 unscheduled absences within six months, while 38% had up to five work absences over the same period.
“In El Paso, a large portion of our working parents work in service, retail jobs, restaurant accommodations, things like that, that take them after 6 o’clock or on the weekends,” said Leila Melendez, CEO of Workforce Solutions Borderplex.
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The issue is that very few child care providers offer care during nontraditional work hours and after-hours care is expensive for both parents and providers, Melendez said.
She said that child care providers are hesitant to offer extended hours because parents are not requesting it, many because they know they can’t afford it.
“So, parents are using an informal system, babysitters, friends, family, the friends and family network, and that’s been around, but it’s not consistent, and that’s that’s our issue,” Melendez said.
Parents and providers face child care shortage
For some El Paso families, child care availability determines whether they can continue working or attending school. Norma Bustillos, a mother who relies on child care services from Workforce Solutions Borderplex, said the limited hours of operation hurt her ability to pursue additional education.
“Workforce’s child care services are excellent for a standard 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. job, but it would be very helpful if they could extend hours so parents could also study after work,” Bustillos said in Spanish.
Challenges expanding child care services
Jaquelyn Reza, owner of Flowers in the Garden Child Development Center, explained that the high cost of extended care is a significant challenge. Families often struggle to afford after-hours services, especially since child care centers increase fees for shifts beyond 6 p.m. to compensate for the longer hours required.
Reza said regular child care costs $200-$250 per week, but nontraditional hours are even more expensive due to the added cost of paying staff to work later shifts.
Reza said providers already struggle with staffing shortages, funding challenges and regulatory hurdles. Raising wages for child care workers would be necessary to pay employees willing to work late shifts.
Shirley Rubio, owner of Rubio’s Daycare & Preschool, emphasized that higher enrollment is essential to make after-hours care sustainable.
“If we don’t have our enrollment capacity, we can’t nearly pay rent, utilities and some staff,” Rubio said.
Can the Certified Caregiver Pilot Program help?
HB 2652 and SB 1249 are still moving through the legislative process. According to Ordaz, child care is an economic issue, and parents and businesses across the state recognize that establishing a healthy economy depends on access to quality and affordable child care.
“In the long run, it’s a smart investment,” she said.
Additionally, Melendez said that Workforce Solutions would identify child care providers for extended care and offer subsidies to parents participating in workforce training programs. The goal of the Certified Caregiver Pilot Program being tested in El Paso is to explore a model that could eventually expand access to child care across the state.
Guerrero, the single mother working toward her master’s degree, said a program that encourages extended child care hours could lend a balance to her work/school and family.
The current lack of flexibility has left her feeling discouraged and burned out, she said.
“For workers like me, these obstacles become very difficult to succeed,” Guerrero said.
The post After-hours child care to be piloted in El Paso under proposed bills appeared first on El Paso Matters.
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