Closing Arizona’s Child Care Gap: Why Investing in Infrastructure Matters 

Across the state, too many families are struggling to find child care that is affordable, reliable, and close to home- and the challenge is even greater in rural and underserved communities. This problem is known as the child care gap. The child care gap measures the potential difference between how many licensed child care slots exist and how many children age five and under live in homes where all available parents are working. In Arizona, that gap is already 16.5% statewide. But in rural communities, the numbers are far more alarming. Safford faces a child care gap of 66.1%, while Payson’s gap is 60.6%-leaving the majority of working families with young children without reliable, accessible child care. That means there are so many families in some areas of Arizona that simply do not have access to child care- even if they want to work and can afford it. 

When families cannot find child care, the impacts ripple through the entire community: 

• Children do not have access to quality early learning that leads them to enter kindergarten ready to thrive 

• Parents are forced to cut back their work hours, leave jobs, or turn down better opportunities 

• Businesses struggle to hire and keep workers 

• The state loses billions of dollars each year in lost productivity and tax revenue 

Child care is not just a family issue- it is a workforce issue, a business issue, and an economic issue. 

So how do we fix it? 

Arizona needs a policy solution that helps bring more child care providers into the market, especially in rural areas. Investing in infrastructure means helping with the cost of building, renovating, and equipping child care centers. It means supporting providers with start-up expenses so they can open their doors and serve more families. It means making long-term investments so child care programs can stay open and grow over time. 

HB 2239 creates the Child Care Infrastructure Grant Program and Fund. This bill would provide targeted support to expand child care facilities, especially in rural and underserved communities where the need is greatest. Arizona has a proven track record of success in this area. The 2022–2023 Arizona Child Care Infrastructure Grant created new child care slots, improved the quality of care, increased provider capacity, and reduced waitlists. HB 2239 builds on that success by replicating a model that we already know works. 

This bill is about more than buildings. It’s about giving parents more choices, helping businesses, and improving the quality of life for families. It’s about strengthening our workforce and supporting long-term economic growth. It’s about making sure rural Arizona is not left behind.

The child care gap did not happen overnight, and it will not be solved overnight. But with smart, proven investments in child care infrastructure, we can build a system that works for families, businesses, and our state. When we support families, we strengthen our economy. When our communities thrive, Arizona thrives. When we invest in our children, we invest in our future.