PHOENIX — With inflation and high cost of living, childcare is getting harder to afford and what is already an expensive choice may get even pricier.
One of the last remaining pandemic relief programs still in effect expired at the end of September. It gave billions of dollars to childcare programs across the country to keep them afloat and improve compensation for staff.
A survey by the National Association for the Education of Young Children shows that 43% of centers say they’ll be forced to raise tuition for working parents, 23% will serve fewer children, and 27% will cut wages for staff which is already hard to retain.
At the Valley of the Sun YMCA, Vice President of Child Care Kirsten Gray says about a hundred of the kids they care for get scholarships to attend their programs. Right now, they’re funded through June.
“We don’t know what will happen after that,” she said. “We’re not going to turn a family away who can’t pay, but it’ll be tough.”
LIST: Programs for kids before and after school around the Valley
With the pandemic funding, she says the YMCA was also able to raise pay and promote and hire full-time staff with benefits while supporting their continuing education.
“We’re committed to maintaining pay and benefits for current employees, but our biggest concern is how do we continue to recruit staff with continuing education?” Gray said.
She says that’ll be crucial because the funding also allowed them to build more classrooms and right now, they do have space to serve 300 more kids.
“We’ve been able to give them confidence that our doors are staying open, that their child will always have a safe place,” Gray said. “But we are always working hard to say OK, how are we going to maintain, if for not just the children we already serve but all the children who potentially are going to need a spot with so many child care providers closing,” Gray said.
Gray says, as of right now, there are no plans to raise tuition, but it is something they are monitoring closely.
For families whose centers are closing down, she says they do have some scholarship opportunities available if they need to transfer to the YMCA.
In the meantime, she says they are looking for grants and philanthropy opportunities to help maintain what they are providing, until the next legislative session.
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