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The former owner of a family child care center in west-central Texas is running for a seat in the Texas legislature.

BriTanya Brown of Stamford, near Abilene, is one of many child care providers across the country who hope to use their experiences to improve conditions for caregivers, children and families. Brown said the child care system is in crisis.

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"In Texas alone we’ve lost 27 percent of child care providers since the pandemic," Brown pointed out. "Infant care costs more than instate tuition at many colleges. And the subsidy waitlist, many families just hanging on for six to eight months at a time, forcing people out of the workforce."

During the pandemic many child care facilities relied on funds from the American Rescue Plan to operate. Texas received more than $2 million to help child care facilities stay open, reopen and pay workers.

Brown created and organized A Day Without Child Care in 2021. The event is the largest one-day work stoppage in child care organizing history. She noted since opening her business in 2019, she has organized campaigns to help caregivers lobby state legislators on reimbursement rates.

Brown stressed child care workers would like to see a universal child care system.

"An affordable child care system that is built with race and gender justice in mind," Brown urged. "That makes sure that it’s equitable for all families who need it. Making sure that child care is guaranteed, that we have a thriving workforce and that we build these systems to be culturally responsive to the communities that they are in."

The nonprofit called Vote Run Lead, which recruits and trains women on the campaign trail, said issues surrounding child care are often an impetus for candidates to run.

This story was produced with original reporting by Rebecca Gale for Better Life Lab at New America and The 74.