SAN ANTONIO – United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County are stepping in to help address issues related to child care locally.
The Ready Children Impact Council was created in 2017 to address the issues. United Way is funding centers to make child care available for more families, and it is also working with centers to increase their level of quality.
“We actually are working with partners in our community to provide mentors to those centers. So this is a trained expert that is knowledgeable in the accreditation and certification process to work with those centers,” said Katherine Filut, director of the Ready Children Impact Council at United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County.
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A report called the Status of Women in San Antonio offers a look at some of the major issues affecting San Antonio women, including the need for child care.
The report states that a 2015 assessment found that child care facilities were located near the wealthier, northern part of the city. By 2018, nothing had changed, according to the study.
“So if you’re thinking about a woman who’s trying to get her GED and she doesn’t have childcare. Is that going to be possible?” Filut said.
The Status of Women report cites a similar report done in 2008, labeling child care as an urgent need. More than a decade later, the new report states women of color and those with children still have limited resources and significant child care needs.
Filut said these issues will impact our community negatively if nothing is done.
“If you can just connect with that child and support them emotionally and make sure that they’re nurtured and that they’re curious learners progressing toward their full potential, the outcome for our city is tremendous in terms of our children graduating — our children reaching their full potential, getting jobs, being successful in life,” Filut said.