QUALITY CHILD CARE
Too many Arizona families are struggling to find reliable, affordable child care. The average annual cost of infant care in Arizona is over $10,000, and only 21 percent of families in the Copper State are able to afford it.
Hardworking families need access to affordable, high-quality child care. Decades of research show that child development during the first few years of life is critical to their long-term success and happiness.
Arizona Child Care Costs
| Infant Care | Toddler Care (4 years old) | |
| Share of families able to afford care | 27.9% | 38.2% |
| Annual care cost | $9,437 | $7,497 |
| Income necessary to afford care | $94,370 | $74,970 |
| Total number of families | 1,579,481 | 1,579,481 |
| Number of families unable to afford care | 1,139,095 | 976,833 |
When child care is available, it is often too expensive. Too many families are forced to choose between the cheapest child care available – putting their children at risk – and leaving the workforce altogether. Families in poverty are especially hard-hit by child care costs, when they can afford them at all, spending nearly a quarter of their income on it.
Child care reform means more income and security for working parents
Investing more in child care policy will lead to more options and economic security for working parents. Expanding child care nationally could lead to 2.3 million new jobs between reducing under-employment among working parents, and creating new jobs in child care and early education. This type of broad reform could lift 1 million or more families out of poverty from increased earnings and reduced child care costs. This is in addition to the benefits to children from greater investment in their early development and education.
It’s time for reform in Arizona
Hardworking families are stuck. They don’t have affordable, quality options for child care. Families are forced to rely on relatives or informal child care options that don’t give them the flexibility they need to keep working. The financial and emotional costs of maintaining child care without a reliable and affordable network of providers is putting unconscionable stress on many families already living paycheck-to-paycheck.
It’s time for Arizona to support hardworking families by providing affordable, quality child care options for everyone.
Works Cited
Analysis of CCAA and U.S. Census Bureau data, Economic Policy Institute (2014).
Rethinking U.S. Child Care Policy, Issues in Science and Technology, David Blau (2002).
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