PHOENIX — The price of putting kids in child care can be astronomical. Those in the industry, whether they own a center or work with them, know it’s hard for some families.
But soon, because of the end of pandemic-era related funds, a domino effect may happen and drive prices up for both child care centers and the families in need of them.
According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the average cost of center-based child care for toddlers in Arizona annually is $10,883. That translates to more than $900 a month.
“The cost of high-quality care is very, very expensive,” said Ginger Ward, the CEO of Southwest Human Development, a nonprofit aimed at helping young kids and early childhood development.
The federal government gave out $24 billion under the American Rescue Plan Act to more than 220,000 child care centers across the country in an effort to help stabilize the industry during the pandemic.
In Arizona, the Department of Economic Security said it allocated more than $571 million to more than 2,900 child care providers throughout the state. About $60 million was allocated for infrastructure grants to help child care providers renovate needed infrastructure.
That money ended on September 30, and already, Amy Friedlander, a child care industry consultant with Opportunities Exchange, said she’s already heard of child care centers closing down because of the loss of funding.
“This is a field that has been stressed for a long time and we benefitted greatly from COVID relief dollars. We are concerned about how to continue to remain viable from a financial point of view,” said Friedlander.
Beth Brantley, the owner of Bright Ideas Childcare in Tempe and Phoenix said they’ve had to cut back some of their programs. She wouldn’t be surprised if child care programs closed.
“It's going be a matter of - can we afford it this month or not? Are we going to open or keep our doors open? Are we going to have to close our doors?” she continued. “It's making sure that we're tapping into absolutely every resource that we have in order for us to keep our doors open.”
She said they cut back on transportation for their child care services, had to cut out field trips and also cut out dinner services.
“We try to do things as economically as we can,” she said.
Brantley said they rely heavily on grants, including the pandemic-related funds. Without them, it’s too difficult.
“I would say combined with the pandemic funding, there's no way we could have kept our doors open,” she said.
With insufficient funds, Brantley said they may have to increase costs for families, too. Brantley said she increased costs last year and said it wasn’t enough to even cover the minimum wage increase.
“My staff, they're worth way more than minimum wage and it's a dedication to what they do,” she said.
With costs increasing, it may make it more difficult for families to find child care. It’s already difficult as it is, with some centers, including theirs, that have waitlists.
“It's hard, too, because you have parents that you would love to get in your door and you can't because there's nowhere to put your children,” said Morgan Beasley, the director of the Bright Ideas Childcare Center Phoenix location.
A national childcare conference is in Phoenix for the next few days, talking with state and industry professionals on how they can become more efficient.
“There is a certain amount of efficiency we hope providers can gain, a certain amount of business acumen, and automation... Ultimately, we need more dollars in the sector,” said Friedlander.
“It's time for our lawmakers, our political partners, they need to pay attention to what we're doing because what we're doing affects generations to come,” said Brantley.
As for the cost of child care to families, Ward said advocacy groups have been in conversations to try and get higher rates of reimbursement for families and fight for higher subsidy rates.
The Arizona Department of Economic Security said although the pandemic-era funding ended, the department has other programs in place that help with funding through the next summer.
