FAQs

No. All WSNCT employer services are free.

We help businesses of all sizes. We customize our services to meet the unique needs of your business.

Our Business Development team is available to discuss your specific needs. Please complete the employer interest form and someone will reach out to assist you.

The Child Care Services (CCS) program subsidizes childcare for low-income families to help enable parents to work or attend workforce training or education activities. CCS also educates parents about the availability of quality child care to enhance children’s early learning and development. CCS is funded through the federal Child Care and Development Fund, which is overseen by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Child Care. The Texas Workforce Commission administers these funds for Child Care Services through Workforce Solutions for North Central Texas and other workforce boards.

Licensed Child Care Centers may care for 13 or more children under the age of 14 for less than 24 hours in a day. Licensed centers are routinely inspected every 5 to 12 months, or more frequently if reports of abuse, neglect or violations of licensing minimum standards are received.

Licensed Family Homes may care for 7 to 12 children under the age of 14 for less than 24 hours per day in the caregiver's own home. Licensed homes are routinely inspected every 12 to 24 months, or more frequently if reports of abuse, neglect or violations of licensing minimum standards are received.

Registered Family Homes may care for no more than 6 children in the caregiver's own home. They may also care for an additional 6 school age children. The number of children allowed in the home is determined by the ages of the children. Registered homes are routinely inspected every 1 to 3 years, or more frequently if reports of abuse, neglect or violations of licensing minimum standards are received.

Relative Care is defined as care provided by a relative who is at least 18 years of age and is one of the following: the child’s grandparent, the child’s great-grandparent, the child’s aunt or uncle, or the child’s sibling. Families receiving financial aid for child care through Child Care Services can choose a relative to care for their children. Relative child care providers cannot reside in the same household as the child receiving care and must become a Listed Family Home with the Child Care Licensing Division.

• The relative must be related to the child/ren by blood, marriage or court decree;
• The relative must be 18 years of age;
• The relative must be related in one of the following ways:
  • The child’s grandparent;
  • The child’s great-grandparent;
  • The child’s aunt or uncle; or
  • The child’s sibling (who resides in a separate residence);
• The parent and relative provider cannot live in the same home (some exceptions apply);
• The relative provider must become a listed provider with Child Care Licensing and sign a Provider Agreement before being paid to provide child care in the relative’s home;
• The relative provider cannot provide care for the child/children in the child’s home unless one of the following applies:
  • The child has a disability that makes it difficult to take the child outside his/her home;
  • The child is under 18 months old;
  • The child is a child of a teen parent;
  • The parent's work schedule requires evening, overnight, or weekend child care in which taking the child outside of the child's home would be disruptive to the child;
  • Other child care provider arrangements are not available in the community.

Please contact Child Care Services at 940-382-6712 for relative provider packet.

940-382-6712 (local)
940-387-0154 (fax)

Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 130
Denton, TX 76202

Physical Address:
5800 I-35 #100
Denton, TX 76207

The hours of operation are from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday through Friday.

The Texas Rising Star program is a quality rating and improvement system (QRIS) for child care programs participating in the Texas Workforce Commission’s (TWC) scholarship child care program. Texas Rising Star certification is available to licensed Early Learning Programs (ELP) and licensed and registered Early Learning home facilities that meet the certification criteria. A Texas Rising Star-certified program must have an agreement to serve Texas Workforce Commission (TWC)-scholarship children.

The Texas Rising Star program offers three levels of quality certification (2-Star, 3-Star, and 4-Star) to encourage Early Learning Programs to attain progressively higher levels of quality. These certification levels are tied to graduated enhanced reimbursement rates for children receiving scholarships.

• Be a regulated child care provider:
• Licensed or registered with Texas Health and Human Services Child Care Licensing (CCL), or
• Operated and monitored by the U.S. military.
• Not be under Corrective or Adverse Action with CCL.
• Not be disqualified from the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).
•  Accept the maximum CCS payment rate (minus parent share of cost), unless the provider published rate is lower, which is the amount that will be paid. 
• Keep records for CCS-subsidized children for 3 years and 3 months, as required by federal law.

Step 1: Contact Us 

Reach out to Child Care Services to express your interest in becoming a CCS Provider and to schedule a meeting with a Program Support Specialist.
Email: ccproviders@dfwjobs.com or 
Phone: 940-382-6712

Step 2: Attend CCS Orientation

All prospective CCS ELP’s must attend the Child Care Services Orientation. This session is a required step in the onboarding process and includes:

• An overview of Child Care Services (CCS)
• Details about the Early Learning Program (ELP) agreement
• A review of the ELP Child Care Services Manual
• An Entry-Level Overview for Texas Rising Star

Step 3: Gather and Submit Required Documentation

Before your scheduled meeting, please gather  the following:

• A copy of your license or permit (issued by DFPS, Texas Child Care Licensing, or the U.S. military)
• A copy of your published childcare rates for all age groups served

During your meeting, the Program Support  Specialist will:

• Review CCS requirements
• Learn more about your facility or home
• Schedule a follow-up (phone or in-person) to review CCS policies, complete paperwork, sign the CCS agreement, and submit your Texas Rising Star Interest Form 

Step 4: Attend Texas Rising Star Orientation 

• After signing your CCS agreement, you  are required to attend the Texas Rising Star Orientation. This session outlines the steps of becoming a Texas Rising Star Early Learning Program.

• Be related to the child by blood, marriage, or court decree.
• Be at least 18 years old.
• Be the child’s:
  • Grandparent 
  • Great-grandparent 
  • Aunt or uncle 
  • Sibling (living in a separate home)
• Not live in the same home as the child’s parent (exceptions may apply).
• Become a listed provider with Child Care Licensing and sign a Provider Agreement before receiving payment.
• Provide care in your own home unless one of the following applies:
  • The child has a disability that limits travel.
  • The child is under 18 months old.
  • The child is of a teen parent.
  • The parent works evenings, nights, or weekends, making outside care disruptive.
  • No other childcare options are available in the community.

For a relative provider packet, contact Child Care Services at 940-382-6712.

Licensed Early Learning Programs, licensed home-based programs, registered home-based programs, and licensed school age programs are eligible to become Texas Rising Star certified if they meet certain eligibility criteria. Learn more about Texas Rising Star eligibility.

If you would like to apply to be a Texas Rising Star-certified program, please review the information on Getting Ready to Apply to Texas Rising Star. Then, begin your application by submitting your Interest Form.

Once your Interest Form is received, you will be contacted by a Texas Rising Star Mentor to help you begin the application process and complete the application forms. Your Texas Rising Star Mentor will help go over the Texas Rising Star guidelines and assessment measures with you and help your program get everything in order to prepare for your Texas Rising Star assessment. The amount of time it takes for an ELP to move through the application process varies. An ELP that is diligently works on preparation with their Texas Rising Star Mentor can generally get ready for assessment in 2-4 months. When you are ready to move forward with assessment, you will be given a two week window of time during which your Texas Rising Star assessment will take place. Once completed, the assessment will be scored and you will be assigned your new Texas Rising Star star rating! The Director will be required to join TECPDS and create a CLI Engage account. 

Your Texas Rising Star certification is good for three years. After three years, your ELP will have to go through a reassessment to continue your active status in the program.

The Texas Rising Star program organizes measures into four categories:

Category 1: Director and Staff Qualifications and Training
Category 2: Teacher-Child Interactions
Category 3: Program Administration
Category 4: Indoor/Outdoor Learning Environments

During your ELP’s Initial Assessment into the Texas Rising Star program, the assessor confirms all required measures, such as written policies, are verified. The assessor assesses the points-based measures, such as teacher-child interactions and environments in observation blocks of one to one-and-a-half hours per classroom. Programs may not become certified with only structural (required) measures reviewed.

Texas Rising Star assessors evaluate the program as a whole with the Facility Assessment Record Form (FARF) and each classroom with the age-appropriate Classroom Assessment Record For (CARF) by scoring each of the applicable measures specific to the facility type and/or the classroom’s age group. The assessor then enters the assessment scores into CLI Engage, which generates the program’s final star-level certification.

Nationally Accredited Facilities
Upon receipt of the documents for application, nationally accredited facilities will receive a modified Initial Assessment, in which the assessor observes and scores Categories 2 and 4 for all classrooms. Categories 1 and 3 are not observed/assessed during the initial assessment or recertification process. 

As a Texas Rising Star program, you could receive:

• Higher reimbursement rates with Child Care Services
• One-on-one support from a WSNCT Mentor
• Scholarships for educational and professional development opportunities
• Make improvements with access to equipment and materials
• A free invitation to the annual Texas Early Learning Summit
• Families with Child Care Services who select a Texas Rising Star program for child care can receive a 25% reduction in parent share of cost

Yes, we can! On-the-job earning opportunities, in-demand skills training, nationally-recognized certifications and associate degree programs are some of the options available through our Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) programs. Visit the Workforce Center nearest you, or email careerservices@dfwjobs.com to learn more about eligibility requirements and available WIOA funding for these and other career services.

Yes. If you are participating in a WIOA program, we have support services to help with barriers that may keep you from getting a job or training for one. Funding is not guaranteed and is subject to approval on a case-by-case basis. Visit the Workforce Center nearest you, or email careerservices@dfwjobs.com to connect with one of our staff members.

Yes. If you are participating in a Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act program, we have support services to help with barriers that may keep you from getting a job or training for one. Funding is not guaranteed and is subject to approval on a case-by-case basis. Visit the Workforce Center nearest you, or email youthcareerservices@dfwjobs.com to connect with one of our staff members.

We serve youth and young adults ages 16-24.

We offer paid internships, on-the-job training, skills training, job readiness workshops (resume writing, interviewing techniques, etc.), High School Equivalency/GED assistance, career mentoring, financial literacy and much more. Visit the Workforce Center nearest you, or email youthcareerservices@dfwjobs.com to connect with one of our staff members.

Training providers whose primary physical address is located within the 14 counties we serve may submit an application for their programs across all campus locations. If your organization’s primary campus is not located within our 14-county region, your application for consideration must be submitted to the workforce board that oversees the area where the primary campus is located.

For a program to be considered for the ETPL, the occupational outcome of the program must be included on the statewide Target Occupations List found on Texas Workforce Commission Eligible Training Providers web page: https://www.twc.texas.gov/partners/eligible-training-providers

Yes, when submitting the application, supporting documentation will also need to be included. The documents include: the curriculum outline and course descriptions, a copy of the certificate of approval by the regulating body and the list of courses they approved, and documentation of employer partnership regarding each program making application. The documentation can be in the form of a letter on the employer’s letterhead that includes the date, address, e-mail and/or phone number as well as a signature, or a copy of the last Program Advisory Committee minutes and roster including the name of the employer they represent and if they attended. Either of the documentation of employer partnership, must be dated within the last 12 months to confirm the partnership is current.

Once a program has gone through the application process and been added to the Statewide Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL), that program is available to any board area with the occupational outcome of the program included on their Target Occupations List. If the occupational outcome for the program listed on the ETPL is also listed on Workforce Solutions for North Central Texas’ Target Occupations List, a WIOA participant can consider the program if approved for training services.