Understanding how early education is funded in Travis County
By Margo Kinneberg, Early Care and Education Special Project Manager
Creating a Local Funding Stream
Last week, Children’s Funding Project published a case study of Travis County’s path to approving Proposition A in 2024. United Way for Greater Austin played an important role in this victory, which dedicates a portion of local property taxes to creating more affordable, high-quality child care and after school programs in our community. The case study highlights the years of coalition-building and advocacy that led to the successful ballot measure.
Travis County’s Fiscal Landscape
The fiscal map shows the number of funding sources that support each early childhood age range and describes each of those sources.
Thanks to support from the City of Austin and technical assistance from Children’s Funding Project, we have created an early childhood fiscal map for the years preceding the passing of Proposition A. Partners can use this interactive tool to see the variety of sources that fund early childhood education in Travis County. It shows fluctuation in these funding streams over time; overall funding decreased from 2022 to 2023 – at the same time, the need for affordable child care increased. This trend underscores the importance of Proposition A and its creation of a sustainable, dedicated funding source for early childhood education.
What’s Next
Travis County is working to implement Proposition A, which will be overseen by Health and Human Services. The Austin/Travis County Success By 6 coalition is supporting the community through the implementation process and will continue to advocate for high-quality early care and education. You can subscribe here to stay informed about this work and participate in the coalition.
Have questions? Reach out to advocacy@uwatx.org.