TUITION RATES

For the majority (55%) of zip codes in FWISD, the survey captures at least 50% of licensed child care centers in that zip code. Survey penetration of child care homes is more limited overall. Regardless of geographic distribution, survey responses cannot be generalized to those who did not complete the survey. Additionally, the limited number of respondents in some zip codes prevents meaningful comparisons of responses between zip codes. The table in Appendix V provides respondent information for each zip code in FWISD along with capacity, enrollment, and staffing numbers by zip code.

Despite the geographic distribution of child care providers, it is important to note that the residences of students cannot be assumed based on the location of a child care facility, as child care choices are impacted by many non-geographic factors. Focus group and site visit participants indicate that some child care centers have children who live outside the Fort Worth School District but attend child care facilities in the Fort Worth School District. There are parents who work in Fort Worth and find it convenient to bring their children to a child care facility close to work rather than close to their home. Thus, though child care centers are generally reflective of the entire Fort Worth School District, the distribution of enrolled students may or may not reflect that of the district. Even so, comparison of respondent enrollment numbers to census data shows respondents representing 23% of the total young child populations in those zip codes.

Tuition Rates

The 2013 Texas Workforce Commission’s Texas Child Care Market Rate Survey Final Report calculated average child care rates by age by county throughout Texas, though it did not provide information at the school-district level. While reported tuition rates among the 84% of providers that supplied tuition information in this survey vary extensively, they follow the county-wide trend that registered homes generally charge less than licensed homes, which charge less than most licensed child care centers. Responding child care centers report average tuition rates generally aligned with county-wide market rates, but the average rates among responding child care homes are substantially below market rate for Tarrant County.

Table Table 5 and Table 6 below provide averages and percentiles of tuition rates among responding providers.58 Lower tuition often correlates with services to lower-income families. While a portion of economically disadvantaged families may attend higher-priced providers through rate reduction and subsidy program discussed in the next section, lower-tuition providers are the most accessible options for lower-income families, and thus their presence is critical to ensuring the affordability and choice in the private child care market.