Arizona’s child care waitlist is approaching a new milestone. Almost 10,000 kids are now waiting for access to child care subsidies. That’s 10,000 futures on hold.
The child care waitlist was reinstated in August of 2024. In July, 900 children were released from the waitlist thanks to funds appropriated by the legislature in the FY2026 budget. Despite that, the need for affordable child care continues to grow thanks to cuts in federal funding.
A new report from the Center for the Future of Arizona suggests that expanding access to affordable child care could provide a more than $12 billion boost to our state economy. Previous reports estimate the lack of affordable child care is a nearly $5 billion hit to our state economy.
“As Arizonan’s wonder about the declining birth rate, and the cost of raising a family skyrockets, investing in child care for working families just makes sense. It means investing in a strong, prosperous economy,” said Stand for Children Arizona Executive Director Rebecca Gau. “Our economy does not work if thousands of Arizona parents are missing work because child care is unaffordable. That’s why more than 60% of Arizonans support funding for affordable child care.”
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