Our state’s childcare crisis is having a multi-billion-dollar impact, according to a recent report.
ReadyNation, a bipartisan organization focused on career education, found that “lack of adequate child care” has “an annual economic cost of $4.7 billion in lost earnings, productivity, and revenue.”
Read the ReadyNation report here.
More than half of Arizona families reportedly struggle with the affordability of care, nearly half struggle with finding quality care, and about 70% of families have trouble accessing care, according to data.
A growing number of parents are reportedly experiencing work issues due to childcare insufficiencies.
The data suggests that 42% of Arizona parents have had to disrupt their work, working fewer hours or changing schedules. More than a quarter of parents have had to quit, with others being fired or demoted. Nearly 40% of parents have also turned down further education or had to find different jobs.
Those impacts then get passed on to employers and taxpayers, as well as the children themselves.
“Arizona’s child care crisis damages the future workforce by depriving young children of nurturing, stimulating environments that support healthy brain development while their parents work,” ReadyNation said.
See more of the data and findings here.
