Arizona childcare would be more affordable under Harris proposal

Vice President Kamala Harris previously announced more federal funding for Arizona child care through the Child Care & Development Block Grant (CCDBG). Her newly announced economic policy agenda promises even more support for families in the near future.

She explained that these issues are personal for her.

“My mother was a breast cancer researcher, and she would work long days and often on weekends,” Harris said in remarks. “And when she did, my sister and I would walk two doors down to the home of Mrs. Regina Shelton.”

“Ms. Shelton ran a childcare center, and she became a second mother to my sister and me. My mother often said that but for Mrs. Shelton she would never have been able to do the work that she did. Those are the stakes of this work: bringing childcare to all families who need it.”

Harris has a long track record of supporting women and children. In her career as District Attorney of San Francisco, as Attorney General of California, and as a US Senator, Harris focused on crimes against women and children; established the Bureau of Children’s Justice in California; and led a bill that aligns school and work hours, expands after-school and summer programs, and guarantees paid leave for parents and caregivers.

Benefits for Arizona Families

The CCDBG reduces the financial burdens of child care for low-income working families. Specifically, this program helps by:

• Capping child care copays at 7% of income;
• Encouraging states to eliminate copays for families of children with disabilities, experiencing homelessness, in foster care, in Head Start, and for families below 150% of the federal poverty level;
• Stabilizing and improving child care programs by directing states to pay child care providers fairly and on time;
• Making it easier for families to access CCDBG subsidies through online enrollment and presumptive eligibility.

In Arizona, thousands of children under 6 already benefit from the CCDBG.

More Federal Funding for Child Care Providers

The Biden-Harris administration is also supporting child care providers. The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), a bill that provided vital financial support to communities and families suffering from COVID-19, boosted funding to the CCDBG and gave $1.3 billion to Arizona, which led to the Arizona Child Care Recovery Plan.

Next, Governor Katie Hobbs plans to invest $91 million more from the CCDBG to support Arizona’s Child Care Assistance program. This federal funding will:

• Ensure over 5,000 qualifying Arizona families retrain access to the program;
• Expand access to high-quality care by offering incentives to child care providers;
• Lower barriers to enrollment by waiving costly registration fees.

Learn more about the Child Care Assistance program for you and your family here.