Arizona ranks 39^th in child well-being, according to the 2023 KIDS COUNT® Data Book, a 50-state report of recent household data developed by the Annie E. Casey Foundation analyzing how children and families are faring. However, our country’s lack of affordable and accessible child care short-changes children and causes parents in Arizona to frequently miss work or even quit their jobs, while those who can find care are paying dearly for it. These child care challenges cost the American economy billions of dollars a year and stymie women professionally.

The Data Book reports that too many parents cannot secure child care that is compatible with work schedules and commutes. The Data Book reports that in 2020–21, 16% of Arizona children under 6 had a family member who quit, changed, or refused a job because of problems with child care. And women are five to eight times more likely than men to experience negative employment consequences related to caregiving.

Nationwide, children birth to five of color are disproportionately affected as family members are forced to make job changes because of child care at higher rates: Black children (17%), Latino children (16%), and Asian and Pacific Islander children (14%); compared to the national average of 13% of children.

“Child care is an essential service like health care and education,” said Interim President and CEO of Children’s Action Alliance (CAA), Kelley Murphy.  CAA is the Arizona member of the KIDS COUNT network. “That is why it must be affordable and accessible for parents to make a decent living to care for the children, and to build a stronger economy.”

Even if parents can find an opening at child care near their home, they often can’t pay for it. Arizona’s      average cost of center-based child care for a toddler was $10,883, 11% of the median income of a married couple, and 31% of a single mother’s income in the state.

While the cost of care burdens families, child care workers are paid worse than 98% of professions. Median national pay for child care workers was $28,520 per year or $13.71 an hour in 2022, less than the wage for retail ($14.26) and customer service ($18.16) workers.

The failings of the child care market also affect the current and future health of the American economy, costing $122 billion a year in lost earnings, productivity and tax revenue, according to one study. All these challenges put parents under tremendous stress to meet the dual responsibilities of providing for their families and ensuring their children are safe and nurtured.

“A good child care system is essential for kids to thrive and our economy to prosper.  But our current approach fails kids, parents, and child care workers by every measure,” said Lisa Hamilton, president and CEO of the Annie E. Casey Foundation.  “Without safe child care they can afford and get to, working parents face impossible choices, affecting not only their families, but their employers as well.”

Each year, the Data Book ranks the states according to how children are faring, presenting national and state data from 16 indicators in four domains — economic well-being (Arizona ranked 33rd), education (45th), health (32nd), and family and community (40th). Arizona’s overall rank of 39th reflects both some areas of strength and many ways the state can bolster its policies that support child well-being.

Transitioning from a faltering child care system to creating a flourishing one will take new thinking and investing at the local, state, and national levels. An executive order issued by President Biden in April is aimed at expanding access, lowering costs, and raising wages. It could prove to be a helpful framework, but more is needed:

• Federal, state, and local governments should invest more in child care. State and local governments should maximize remaining pandemic recovery act dollars to fund needed child care services and capacity. Congress should reauthorize and strengthen the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act, and increase funding for public pre-kindergarten and Head Start.
• Public and private leaders should work together to improve the infrastructure for home-based child care, beginning by lowering the barriers to entry for potential providers by increasing access to start-up and expansion capital.
• To help young parents, Congress should expand the federal Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) program, which serves student parents.

2023 National Kids Count Report

On Friday, March 24th, the Department of Economic Security (DES) shared a message with early childhood educators throughout Arizona announcing new, exciting updates for the early childhood system statewide. 

These improvements are important to continue to strengthen Arizona's early childhood system. The updates include DES provider rate adjustments, an education workforce scholarship program, and targeted childcare provider grants. These improvements will facilitate greater access to high-quality childcare, supports for the early childhood workforce including providers, and incentives for new providers to contract with DES or become a DES Certified Family Child Care provider.  

Effective April 1, 2023, the DES Division of Child Care will implement a rate increase for all DES childcare providers through June 30, 2024. The reimbursement rate for infants will increase to the 75th percentile of the 2022 Market Rate Survey, and district rates will change to one statewide rate for each age group by care setting. These changes will bring most rates to the cost of providing care at the minimum health and safety standards, and to the cost of high-quality care when including the enhanced quality reimbursement rate of 50 percent.

Historically, childcare reimbursement rates have usually been calculated by geography and age, resulting in rural providers receiving reimbursement at devastatingly low rates. This adjustment will create a level playing field throughout the state, with potential triple reimbursement rates for providers in rural and underserved communities. 

We would like to give special thanks to the Arizona Early Childhood Alliance (AZECA) Leadership team for their collaboration with DES in reviewing and making priority recommendations on how Arizona could most effectively distribute the remaining CCDF relief funding. These changes will serve as mechanisms to sustain the Arizona early childhood system and strengthen Arizona families statewide.   

Family, friend and neighbor (FFN) child care providers are an essential part of the child care system throughout the United States. Many families select FFN providers based on a child’s need for individualized disability care, language and cultural needs, or availability during non-traditional working hours. It is estimated that just over 50% of Arizona’s children are in FFN child care settings. These providers proved especially important during the pandemic as they offered small group settings and remained open for business while many center-based child care programs were forced to close. Despite their value in the child care space, FFN providers have historically largely missed out on equitable supports that are available to providers in other settings.

This month the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) released a report on a recent survey that demonstrates the inequitable and inadequate supports that were available to FFN providers as the pandemic unfolded. For example, a large percentage of FFN providers did not receive outside financial support to provide care or purchase food. Many FFN providers also did not receive training or home visits from supporting organizations or networks. Additionally, 76% of these providers reported being in need of cleaning supplies and personal protective equipment to continue to providing care during the pandemic. Most importantly the report also developed guiding principles for policymakers to consider as they aim to design effective, equitable child care policy. Some of these guidelines include increasing federal, state and local funding for child care overall and for FFN care specifically; proactively engage FFN providers and families who use this care with multiple channels of communication and appropriate languages to keep them informed of supports and resources; and provide dedicated funding for community-based organizations that work with FFN providers, especially those of color.

The NWLC report describes how the guiding principles were applied by states to support specifically FFN child care during the pandemic. Michigan, Oregon, and Nebraska each prioritized FFN providers in their own unique way. Michigan created a Child Care Relief Fund grant program which allotted a one-time payment to FFN providers. Oregon used Coronavirus Relief Funds for grants awarded to FFN providers. Nebraska made it easier for families receiving child care assistance to select in-home FFN care by waiving certain criteria and allowed subsidized FFN providers to apply for funds to use for purchasing personal protective equipment. Other states also became more inclusive of FFN providers by allowing families receiving child care assistance to use FFN care and eliminating certain limitations. Georgia approved COVID-19-related reasons as an acceptable justification for families receiving child care assistance to use informal or FFN providers. Colorado temporarily waived the in-person inspection requirements making it easier for nonrelative FFN providers to continue participating in the child care assistance program.

Many of these changes were initiated by the pandemic and have served to elevate FFN care in the child care space. These reports demonstrate the key role FFN providers play and make the case that all child care providers deserve equitable supports and opportunities to ensure a strong, stable child care system. Arizona policy makers should take notice and consider following other states lead in prioritizing these vital programs and redirecting some of the Covid relief funds to help keep them up and running lost past the end of the pandemic.

It’s no surprise that school-aged children in the United States have been headed toward a mental health crisis for several years. In Arizona, increased testing demands and class sizes, school violence, and the pressures of social media were worsening all while the state continued cutting education funding, forcing schools to reduce school counselors and other supports that are vital for children. Schools across the state faced teacher and other education workforce shortages. Shortages are far worse in rural and underserved parts of the state. The Covid pandemic has only made these problems worse. The youth mental health crisis is so severe that it is finally being recognized and recommendations on how to address it at the local and national level are becoming available to help.

Prior to the pandemic, it was clear that symptoms of mental illness in youth were on the rise. A 2019 national study found that “one in three high school students and half of female students reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, an overall increase of 40 percent from 2009. Emergency department visits for attempted suicide have risen 51 percent among adolescent girls. Additionally, the grief, trauma, and social isolation that students have sustained over the course of the last two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic have significantly increased symptoms of mental illness. More than half of parents in a recent American Psychiatric Association study expressed concerns about the mental well-being of their children.

But help may soon be on the way. A new Child Trends brief suggests state legislatures can and should increase access to telemental health services in schools. Among the ways states can do this is by considering Medicaid to fund services and continuing the flexibilities that were adopted under the Covid public health emergency. Learn more about the recommendations.

President Biden has included strategies to address youth mental health in his Unity Agenda announced earlier this month. In the agenda, “President Biden is laying out a vision to transform how mental health is understood, perceived, accessed, treated, and integrated – in and out of health care settings”. The agenda includes a wide range of strategies including expanding access to mental health support in schools, colleges, and universities by doubling the number of badly needed school-based mental health professionals and creating protections for children online. More details on the Unity Agenda mental health plan.

The Arizona legislative session is well underway, and we are looking forward to moving the needle on important early childhood issues this year. We are especially excited for the new opportunities surrounding the Healthy Families Arizona Home Visiting program (HFAz). This program serves as a critical resource for expectant and new parents to help get their children off to a healthy start. HFAz is designed to strengthen and support families during the first years of a child’s life. These first years are notably significant as they establish the foundation for success throughout a child’s life and into adulthood.

Back in 2009, monies supporting HFAz were cut from the state general fund and have not been replaced since. This year the Governor’s budget proposal includes long-awaited supports for this program. The budget proposal provides $10 million, of which $7.5 million in new funding and $2.5 million replaces funds that will no longer be available in 2022. The Legislature intended for the program to serve up to 6,000 families but due to the previous funding cuts, it currently only serves 4,000 families. The Governor’s budget would allow an additional 1,500 families to be served finally approaching the pre-recession plans for the program.

The Arizona legislature has echoed similar support for the program. Representative Blackman sponsored HB2111 which appropriates $10 million for Healthy Families. The bill passed the House Health and Human Services Committee (HHS) and is currently waiting to be taken up by Appropriations. Representative Powers Hannley also signaled support for the program by sponsoring HB2441, appropriating $10.75 million.

Children’s Action Alliance along with the Arizona Early Childhood Alliance (AZECA) remains actively engaged in advocating for legislative initiatives that support all Arizona children and their families, in every corner of the state. As these Healthy Families bills progress through the legislative and budget process, we ask early childhood advocates to keep an eye out for action alerts letting you know when to reach out to policymakers in support of these vital issues. We are also eagerly looking forward to our virtual Early Childhood Day at the Capitol 2022, happening on February 24th, 2022. Please join us during our panel discussions where we will be examining how quality childcare supports a strong workforce, community, and economy. Click HERE to register now!