PHOENIX — More than 2,600 Arizona children are on a waitlist to get subsidies for child care from the Arizona Department of Economic Security, according to data updated on Friday.
This comes after the COVID-era funds ended for child care needs for facilities and families last summer, therefore leading to limited funding and an increase in demand. DES said it started a waitlist for families applying for the program on August 1.
“We do not have enough funding for low income working families to be able to access child care and then go to work,” said Barbie Prinster, the executive director of the Arizona Early Childhood Education Association.
Jenney Gonzalez, a single mother of two young kids, told ABC15 she lost a job several years ago when she couldn’t afford child care and was waiting for financial help from the state. A majority of her child care is paid through the subsidy from DES.
“Either being at home or finding some other way to make income because I wouldn’t be able to afford it,” she said if she didn’t have the DES subsidy. “Let’s be realistic. Daycare is pretty expensive.”
Late last year, the U.S. Labor Department found that parents are paying between $6,500 to $15,000 annually for full-day care for one child. According to the a Kids Count report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, it costs nearly $11,000 for one kid to go to a full-time child care facility in Arizona.
Eligibility for DES subsidies depend on income and family size. Income has to be at or below 165% of the federal poverty level, according to DES.
The Valley of the Sun YMCA tells us they've heard concerning trends from families, wanting to delay signing up for child care until they get approval from the DES to help pay for it. Kirsten Gray, the vice president of child care for the YMCA says they have more than 50 families waiting to start as they await for those state subsidies.
Gray said some rooms for children ages three to five have fewer kids now, seeing enrollment go down. The YMCA, in recent months, expanded capacity, opening up five new preschools since late summer. However, enrollment has maintained the same. If they compared apples to apples on having the same number of rooms for kids, Gray said that enrollment has declined. She’s attributing it to families not wanting to pay more for child care.
“They can stay home with mom and dad, maybe self-entertain themselves, but we know they’re not getting kinder ready,” she said.
DES told ABC15 it’s hoping to resolve all new applications that have been waiting for more than 30 days by March 31.
Subsidies are funded through the state budget. Governor Katie Hobbs says she’s looking at additional ways to help the child care industry in her proposed budget including decreasing child care costs for families, increasing availability and more.
DES said in December, nearly 29,000 kids were served through the child care assistance program. There are alternative resources through DES that can be found here.
In the video player above, ABC15 reporter Elenee Dao looks into the current issue and talks with those who are affected.
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