Nontraditional-Hour Child Care in Austin/Travis County: Insights from Interviews, Focus Groups, and Analyses of Supply and Demand

In Austin/Travis County, there is a substantial gap between the need for and supply of nontraditional-hour child care, with only about 2,000 regulated child care slots (or about 4 percent of existing regulated supply) that are licensed to provide child care during nontraditional hours -- before 7:00 a.m. and after 6:00 p.m. during the traditional workweek and anytime on weekends. This report presents findings from interviews, focus groups, and analyses of survey and administrative data to describe nontraditional-hour child care demand, supply, and preferences. Two of the report’s findings are: 1) the potential demand for nontraditional-hour child care is higher among groups facing structural barriers to opportunities and 2) an inadequate supply of nontraditional-hour child care has decreased families’ financial well-being and businesses’ ability to access talented employees.