February: A Month of Advocacy for Early Childhood Policies

February is the shortest month, but for Children’s Action Alliance (CAA), it was a long and important month of advocating for Arizonans. CAA had presence at both the Arizona State Capitol and on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. promoting solutions that are needed and matter to young children and families in Arizona. Through our conversations with state and federal lawmakers, the consistent messaging was that we needed more public investment in child care and early learning so our youngest Arizonans can thrive.

Early Childhood Day

On February 17th, CAA joined the Arizona Early Childhood Alliance (AZECA), along with partners, to meet with state legislators to promote legislation that decreased the child care costs for families, increased access to child care, and addressed the shortage of early childhood educators. Specifically, CAA discussed important solutions that helped families through:

• HB 2643 Appropriation, Child Care
  • The bill appropriates a crucial $120 million from the state General Fund to the Department of Economic Security (DES) for child care assistance.
  • DES implemented a waiting list for most families applying to the Child Care Assistance Program on August 1, 2024, due to increased demand and limited funding. As of 02/28/2025, there are 1,587 families and 2,607 children on the waiting list.
  • As the appropriation bill never received a hearing in its chamber of origin, Governor Hobbs included a $112.4 million on-going appropriation from the state General Fund for the Child Care Assistance Program in her Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) Executive Budget. This means that this will still be a priority discussion item during budget negotiations to help alleviate some of the waiting list.
• HB 2778 Luxury Tax; Nicotine; Vapor; Products
  • The bill imposes a luxury tax on nicotine and vapor products in the same manner as other tobacco products. This is important as the bill directs tax revenue from nicotine and vapor products to be deposited for the Early Childhood Development and Health Board, also known as First Things First (60%), and the state General Fund (40%), which increases state revenue for important programs.
  • First Things First is Arizona’s only public funding source dedicated exclusively to early childhood. On November 7, 2006, Arizonans made a historic decision on behalf of our state’s young children by passing Proposition 203, a citizen’s initiative to fund quality early childhood development and health programs for children, birth to age 5, before kindergarten. Voters backed that commitment with an 80-cent per pack increase on tobacco products. Given the shift away from tobacco product purchases in recent years, First Things First revenue has declined. The bill is an extension of the voter initiative given the innovation of these newer products in recent years.
  • With the decline in revenue, First Things First has had to limit the number of programs, offerings, and financial assistance for early childhood programs, like their Quality First Scholarships, that help low-income families afford quality early care and education for their young children
  • Unfortunately, this bill also did not get a hearing in its chamber of origin- leaving early childhood advocates frustrated at the lack of support from our state lawmakers on common sense solutions that are already adapted in over 30 states.

As the legislative session is far from being over, CAA will continue to advocate for these state level policies that increase funding for child care and early learning programs.

NAEYC Public Policy Forum

CAA’s Director of Early Learning and Education, Kyrstyn Paulat, attended the National Association for the Education of Young Children’s (NAEYC) 2025 Public Policy Forum in Washington, D.C. February 23^rd-25^th. NAEYC represents more than 50,000 early childhood educators that are committed to promoting high-quality early childhood education for young children. CAA was a member of the Arizona core team that included also NAEYC’s Arizona affiliates, Arizona Association for the Education of Young Children (AZAEYC), along with their southern chapter (SAZAEYC), as well as First Things First, Arizona State University, and Northern Arizona University. On February 25^th, Arizona’s core team attended visits with seven out of the nine Congressional Offices, and both U.S. Senate Offices. Specifically, the Arizona team emphasized that Congress should:

• Protect and prioritize new investments in key federal child care and early learning programs that support educators, families and young children, including the Child Care and Development Block Grant, Head Start, and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), in both the FY25 and FY26 appropriations bills;
• Oppose cuts to these programs, and other programs families with young children and early educators rely on, including Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP);
• Prioritize tax approaches that support families with young children to afford child care, like the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, and making the tax credit fully refundable.

Our meetings further reinforced the importance of federal funding to our state and how cuts to these programs would be harmful to our children, families, and communities. Although the House passed the budget resolution last week, there are many House Republicans, like Representative Ciscomani, that are opposed to large cuts to important programs, like Medicaid, and know the devasting effects these would have on their communities. The budget plan does not directly impose specific cuts, but it does lay out guidelines on how to offset the tax reforms, such as directing the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees Medicare and Medicaid, to cut at least $880 billion over 10 years.

The passing of the budget resolution was the first step in a very long process of budget reconciliation. The Arizona team communicated in all meetings how vital these federal programs and funding are to our state as Arizona depends more on federal funds than most states. Federal funds make up 44% of Arizona’s revenues, above the national average of 32%. Specifically, our team stated that 74% of that federal funding is Medicaid and in early childhood, Medicaid covers more than half of Arizona’s births, and roughly 36% of children. In rural Arizona, even more children rely on Medicaid, as more than 50% of the population of children are insured through the public health insurance.

Looking Forward

The state and federal government must expand its support for the early care and education sector, because investing in our children means investing in the future of our society. As we are getting prepared for a long uphill battle, please know your stories and experiences are so important in shaping these policy decisions.

Please contact your elected officials to urge them to prioritize early childhood policies, because an investment in early learning and child care is essential for the well-being of Arizona’s children, their education and health, and our future.

• To find your state representatives, please go to: azleg.gov/findmylegislator
• To find your member of Congress, please go to: https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member