Like the rest of the nation, Arizona is in the middle of a childcare crisis. Unable to find or afford quality child care is an obvious problem for working parents.
Did you know that it’s also a problem for businesses? In Arizona, on average, businesses lose $2,020 per working parent annually through reduced revenue and extra hiring costs, according to a study funded by the Helios Education Foundation. The study commissioned a survey of working parents of children birth to age 5 in Arizona.
The lack of accessible and affordable child care can wreak havoc on parents’ work lives. More than half of parents report being late for work, leaving early, or being distracted due to childcare problems. Nearly two-thirds reported missing a full day of work, while 28% of parents have quit a job due to childcare problems. These impacts on employees also impact businesses and their bottom line.
This crisis is affecting families who need child care to work. Working parents are a critical part of the U.S. labor supply: about 11% of workers in the US have a young child under the age of five at home. In Arizona, that works out to about 474,000 working parents with children under age six. And 60% of young children live in households where all adults work, which means many may need childcare.
However, demand far exceeds supply. A recent study by the Bipartisan Policy Center showed that in our state, about 304,000 young children may need childcare, but only 230,000 childcare openings exist.
As Arizona’s early childhood agency, First Things First (FTF) has been working throughout the state to bring awareness of the critical importance of early childhood investments. Ensuring babies, toddlers, and preschoolers get a strong start and supporting working families is the key to our state’s success. Arizona’s childcare crisis costs the state $4.7 billion annually in lost earnings, productivity, and revenue. All Arizonans must understand that investing in quality child care is investing in our future. Our state’s economic development starts with early childhood development.
Earlier this year, Carlos Contreras, executive officer of Arizona’s Office of Economic Opportunity, called child care one of the pillars of Arizona’s economic growth.
“(In 2023), Arizona was fourth in the nation for economic growth – 80,000 new jobs – but we also have 160,000 open jobs,” Contreras said at a Child Care Forum that First Things First hosted in partnership with the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “We have a lot of talent sitting on the sidelines. Access to affordable child care is such a big factor in getting these talented people into the workforce.”
So what can businesses do?
Along with affordability and accessibility, working families also need reliable childcare, and their children need high-quality care so that we can prepare our next generation of the workforce. Every child, regardless of where they live, their family’s income, or who is caring for them, deserves great care that sets them up for success.
Businesses nationwide recognize that quality child care matters for recruitment and retention. Pilot programs in many states — including Kentucky, Michigan, Iowa, and North Carolina — show that partnerships between government/private companies and working families can make childcare more affordable. For example, Kentucky passed legislation for a state match to employer child care subsidies for employees.
Here are some quick steps to take today:
- Connect with FTF through our Take Action page.
- Support more public funding for child care.
- Provide reliable work schedules and information about childcare assistance programs to employees. Predictive scheduling — advance notice of weekly and on-call shift scheduling — can help retain employees and attract new hires. It can also save money because it reduces the frequency of absenteeism, which can decrease revenue and drive up operational costs.
Quality childcare ensures parents can work, children can learn, and Arizona’s businesses and economy can thrive.