Arizona’s childcare assistance waitlist has grown to more than 14,500 children, even after lawmakers invested tens of millions of additional dollars in a system struggling with both affordability and capacity.
The issue isn't simply a shortage of affordable childcare, it’s a shortage of childcare spaces. The state has too few licensed slots to meet potential demand, while thousands of families who could use existing care cannot afford it without state assistance.
The Arizona Department of Economic Security reinstated a waiting list for most families seeking childcare assistance after demand surpassed available funding on Aug. 1, 2024.
As of Aug. 28, Arizona’s waiting list included 14,528 children, representing 8,759 families. Those numbers capture only families seeking and qualifying for state assistance, not every Arizona family struggling to find or afford care.
“Our state’s early childhood system is in chaos,” said Jacob Summer, Arizona marketing and communications manager for Stand for Children. “We’ve heard from countless Arizonans — teachers, tradesmen, and nurses — who want to work and provide for their families but the lack of affordable child care makes that difficult, if not impossible. We need a legislature that will prioritize affordable child care so that parents can afford to work.”
Those decisions can ripple through family finances, employers and the broader economy.
State investment hasn't eliminated waitlist
The Hobbs administration has launched several efforts aimed at expanding capacity. Its Bright Futures AZ initiative includes $2.5 million to expand home-based child care.
Gov. Katie Hobbs’ fiscal 2026 Arizona Promise Budget included $125.9 million in state and federal childcare funding, including $44.9 million from the state general fund. Her administration described it as the largest state general fund investment in child care since the Great Recession.
“Access to affordable child care provides the opportunity, security and freedom that underpin the Arizona Promise,” Hobbs said. “When I’ve traveled across the state, I’ve heard from families who are struggling to afford child care and moms who put their careers on hold to care for their kids.”
The administration initially announced that the investment would allow about 900 additional children to receive assistance. In February, another 600 children were moved from the waiting list into care, bringing the announced total to 1,500.
Lawmakers followed with another $44.8 million in general fund money for childcare assistance in the fiscal 2027 budget. The appropriation is one-time funding rather than an ongoing commitment.
The state has also directed $3 million toward out-of-school care for children ages 5 to 12, with 30% of the funding reserved for rural communities, and more than $700,000 toward training, technical assistance and access to capital for childcare microbusinesses.
Those programs address another part of the shortage: giving a family financial assistance does not create a classroom, provider or worker where one does not exist.
But early childhood advocates had sought substantially more. Children’s Action Alliance called for $160 million to eliminate the assistance waiting list.
Even as additional children have received assistance, however, thousands of families remain waiting.
Cost creates a major barrier for parents and providers
Families who do not receive assistance can face childcare bills comparable to major household expenses.
The median cost of care for an infant in a licensed Arizona childcare center is $1,289 per month, according to First Things First. Infant-care costs at licensed centers increased 18% between 2022 and 2024.
Providers face financial pressures of their own.Childcare centers must cover wages, rent, insurance, food and other operating expenses while competing for workers in a labor-intensive industry. Staffing shortages can leave classrooms closed even when a facility is licensed to accommodate more children.
Infant care is particularly expensive to provide because classrooms require lower child-to-staff ratios.
For parents, the result can become a straightforward financial calculation: whether returning to work will bring in enough income to justify the cost of care.
“If I can’t find care, then I have to care for them, and then I can’t work,” Arizona mother Melisha Alhambra said during a July event focused on childcare access.
Alhambra said the lack of care forced her to stop working during the summer because she had no one to supervise her children while school was closed.
Parents who cannot find affordable care may reduce work hours, change jobs or leave the workforce. The effects can extend beyond immediate household income to future earnings and retirement savings.
Arizona also faces shortage of childcare slots
Financial assistance solves only part of the problem if families cannot find an available provider. Separate estimates point to a capacity problem as well.
First Things First estimates about 300,000 Arizona children potentially need child care, while the state has roughly 250,000 licensed slots — a gap approaching 50,000 children or about 17%.
“Arizona’s childcare workforce is essential to our economy, said Richard Nickel. “Without enough qualified childcare professionals, parents can’t reliably work, pursue education or build their careers. Our recent statewide poll found that 75% of Arizona voters believe state leaders need to do more to build a skilled workforce. Investing in childcare professionals has to be part of that effort.”
Together, the figures illustrate two overlapping challenges: thousands of families cannot afford childcare without assistance, while Arizona does not have enough licensed capacity to meet potential demand.
The shortage is not necessarily distributed evenly. Availability can depend on where a family lives, the age of the child and the hours parents work.
Families needing infant care or care outside traditional weekday business hours find themselves with very limited options.
Early childhood funding faces long-term challenge
Arizona also faces questions about whether one of its primary early childhood funding sources is sustainable. First Things First, the voter-created state agency focused on children from birth to age 5, relies heavily on tobacco-tax revenue.
The agency received about $88.6 million from tobacco taxes in fiscal 2025. Including investment earnings and grants, total revenue was about $100 million.
However, reports indicate their annual revenue base has declined about 47% since fiscal 2008 as traditional tobacco use has declined and consumers have shifted toward vaping and other nicotine products that are taxed differently.
That creates a long-term challenge as Arizona attempts to expand early childhood services while a major dedicated revenue source declines.
Michelle Crow, Southern Arizona director for Children’s Action Alliance, said parents and providers are already feeling the strain.
“The stories that we’re hearing is true frustration from parents and childcare providers,” Crow said.
Child care increasingly viewed as workforce issue
The effects of the childcare shortage extend beyond families with young children.
First Things First reported that more than half of working Arizona parents surveyed said they had missed work because of limited childcare hours, closures, staffing shortages or unaffordable tuition.
Employers in industries that require workers to be physically present can face absenteeism, turnover and difficulty filling vacancies when employees cannot secure dependable care.
Economic research also suggests the consequences can be substantial.
Common Sense Institute estimates reducing Arizona’s childcare gap could bring tens of thousands of additional workers into the labor force. Under its highest-growth scenario, the group estimated state gross domestic product could increase by about 5% and Arizona could collect up to $669 million more in state revenue annually.
Barbie Prinster, executive director of the Arizona Early Childhood Education Association, described childcare assistance as “a critical workforce strategy that supports working families and allows access to quality child care” in a press release.
The issue also intersects with education. Stable, high-quality early learning gives children opportunities to develop language, literacy, social and behavioral skills before they enter kindergarten.
Affordability and availability remain linked
Early childhood organizations and state officials have proposed responses ranging from additional assistance funding and provider reimbursement to support for home-based childcare businesses, nontraditional-hour care and efforts to recruit and retain early childhood workers.
Eliminating the assistance waitlist would address the affordability problem for thousands of families. It would not, by itself, ensure that a provider has an open seat when those families are ready to use it.
As Arizona debates education spending, workforce development and economic growth, child care increasingly connects all three.
Without enough affordable care and enough providers to deliver it, some parents face a much larger question than how to pay the childcare bill: whether they can afford to work at all.
Editor’s note: A grant from the Arizona Local News Foundation made this story possible. The foundation awarded 15 newsrooms to pay for solutions-focused education reporters for two years. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.
Meet Stacy Stacy Mantle is joining the team at Independent Newsmedia, Inc. as an Education Solutions journalist, thanks to a grant from the Arizona Community Collaborative. She has a long history in education that ranges from teaching junior high and middle school to developing curriculum and standards-based assessments.
Community: A longtime advocate for animal welfare, Stacy is deeply involved in rescue efforts and volunteers with several nonprofit organizations.
Random Fact: Once upon a time, she shared her home with a pet coyote and two wolf hybrids. The experiences were wild enough to become the subject of her first book!
Education: She holds a BA in English with a minor in Political Science, a Post-baccalaureate in Secondary Education, and an MBA with a emphasis on Marketing.
Hobbies: In her spare time, Stacy writes fast-paced urban fantasy novels, crafts small-batch artisan soap, and is always up for hiking or off-roading through the Arizona wilderness with her husband of 23 years.
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