After hearing from parents struggling to afford child care and congregations closing infant and toddler programs due to soaring costs, Dallas Areas Interfaith (DAI) leaders began organizing for a solution.
In November, they gathered over 1,000 DAI leaders at Temple Emanu-El to Reimagine Dallas. There, leaders put forward a bold proposal—a public investment in early childhood education to be placed on this year’s ballot—and encouraged Dallas County Commissioners Andy Sommerman, Dr. Theresa Daniel, and Dr. Elba Garcia to begin exploring it.
Since then, DAI and a broad coalition of allies have continued organizing to move that vision forward—researching proven strategies, meeting with county officials and key leaders, and listening to families and child care providers across the region.
In response, Commissioner Andy Sommerman has called for a full briefing on the proposed Dallas Children's Fund. DAI leaders are mobilizing to pack the Dallas County Commissioners Court for the briefing to ensure this proposal gets the attention it deserves.
"Investing in our young is such an important part of their development,"
DAI Lead Organizer Walker Moore said, quoted in the Dallas Morning News. "This is something we need to be considering very seriously."
[Photo Credit: Liz Rymarev, Dallas Morning News]
Could Dallas County Become the Second in Texas to Pass a Child Care Tax? Advocates Want to Try, Dallas Morning News [pdf]
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