The ongoing COVID-19 Delta variant surge reminds us of the importance of creating safe and nurturing spaces for the children of working parents in Austin becomes more apparent. Across Travis County, many providers seek to continue offering care but have limited resources to do so.

To support them, Workforce Solutions Capital Area joined Austin Public Health to host curbside pickup events for providers to receive cleaning and PPE supplies, as well as resources for the City of Austin’s Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program, at no cost on August 19 and 20 at the Mexican American Cultural Center in Austin.

Shannon Eastman is the Child Development Center Coordinator at Eanes ISD’s two child development centers. The district’s 38 child care staff care for 128 children at its central location and 40 at the Barton Creek center.

“We definitely still need all the supplies. Gloves have been back ordered, and we just sit and wait, and wait, and wait for gloves,” Shannon said. “We have really struggled with getting gloves for the centers. Some of the pieces have been really hard to get ahold of.”

Diana Flores is the Community Engagement Coordinator for the City of Austin’s WIC program.

“WIC helps pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and children from newborns to age of 5. We provide nutrition education, breastfeeding education and food benefits every month,” Diana said. “Right now, we are here to provide WIC incentives and information on how to enroll in the program for child care centers.”

Diana added, “I talked with some providers and they said they are really appreciative of what we are doing here today. This information is helpful because they get a lot of questions about how to enroll in the program.”

Over the two days, 70 providers picked up pallets of supplies, including hand soap and sanitizer, gloves and paper towels, bath tissue and bleach. These providers care for 4,074 children across Travis County.

“This is a huge undertaking that the Child Care Services staff do for us. Not only is it so helpful to have these PPE, but they have continued to be our backbone. I am really thankful for everyone at CCS,” said Shannon.

 

Workforce Solutions Capital Area is committed to supporting providers in Austin who care for the children of our region’s workforce. By providing care in a safe and nurturing environment, Austin’s child care providers are helping to develop a future workforce that is skilled and productive. Learn more about how we support child care providers on our website.

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