Workforce Solutions of the Coastal Bend Presents the 3rd Annual “Back to School” Teachers Fair

CORPUS CHRISTI – Workforce Solutions of the Coastal Bend (WFSCB) will host its 3rd Annual “Back To School” Teachers Fair from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 13, 2016 at the Congressman Solomon P. Ortiz International Center located at 402 Harbor Drive in Corpus Christi, Texas. Over 300 child care employees from across the Coastal Bend region have pre-registered for this premiere event.

Since 1999, WFSCB has provided funding for quality training activities and resources for those child care providers who participate in the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC)-funded child care services program. The purpose of TWC-funded child care services is twofold: (1) to assist low-income families maintain or transition toward self-sufficiency by providing child care subsidies to eligible parents who are working or participating in education or training, and (2) to promote early physical, emotional, social, and intellectual development of children who are the future workforce.

“Quality Child Care” is an initiative that is strongly supported at both the National and State levels. TWC Commissioners continue to provide funding to support “quality” early childhood initiatives and programs at child care centers with Workforce Provider Agreements. House Bill (HB) 4 was passed by the 84th Texas Legislature and signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on May 28, 2015. HB 4 established additional state support for high-quality prekindergarten programs including authorization for a grant program and expansion of early childhood education reporting requirements for all Texas public schools.

In 2015, WFSCB received $10.9 million dollars from the Texas Workforce Commission to provide subsidized Child Care Services for 3,466 families affording child care for 6,295 children within its 12-county region which includes Aransas, Bee, Brooks, Duval, Jim Wells, Kenedy, Kleberg, Live Oak, McMullen, Nueces, Refugio, and San Patricio counties. This funding makes it possible for parents to maintain jobs or attend school or participate in training activities which enable them to enhance their quality of life and the lives of their children.

WFSCB is committed to helping child care providers enhance the quality of services they provide to the children and families they serve in the Coastal Bend region.