SAN ANTONIO — The Texas Health and Human Services Commission on Thursday announced it would collect and share new coronavirus data about childcare facilities across the state, enabling parents to see whether a certain program or facility has reported a case.
The agency said it will share numbers of cases in children and employees at licensed child care centers, school-age programs, and before or after-school programs.
The data is self-reported. In Bexar County, nearly 100 child care facilities have reported at least one COVID-19 case in children at their facilities.
Tony Hass has three children enrolled in daycare. He said at the start of the pandemic, he saw many parents pull their children out of childcare for one reason or another, but with his wife working on the front lines, and him working from home, they decided to leave their kids enrolled in daycare.
He said the tool is great for parents as they decide where or whether to enroll their child into a child care program, as it enables them to see whether an outbreak has occurred at the facility, or start a dialogue with staff about how they are handling the pandemic.
Hass said his family underwent testing for COVID-19 after they were notified two daycare employees tested positive for the virus. Two of his three kids tested positive and quarantined according to CDC guidelines before returning to daycare.
He said he's comfortable with the protocols in place at the child care facility where his children are enrolled.
Blue Roof School director Joshua Garcia said the new HHSC list provides valuable information to parents.
"I think that the parents should be aware of where they're sending their kids," Garcia said.
Garcia said the facility has continued running since getting the green light from the state in May and has not reported a case of COVID-19.
"I think (the list) raises the standards for all child care providers to go the extra mile to make sure that their staff, and the children, and the parents dropping off their children take the extra steps to make sure that they're all protected," Garcia said.
The list is updated daily on weekdays and is accessible online on the HHSC website. At the end of the day, Hass said it's important parents do only what they're comfortable with.
"I get it. It is scary," Hass said. "I guess my message to (parents) would be do what you feel comfortable with. Kind of use this tool as a resource to see what's out there and just have a conversation with the daycare that you might be choosing and do what makes you feel comfortable."