State Child Care Assistance Policies 2010: Arizona

•    Income eligibility limit: In 2010, a family of three in Arizona could qualify for child care assistance with an annual income up to $30,216 (165 percent of poverty, 54 percent of state median income).

•    Waiting list: Arizona had 11,391 children on the waiting list for child care assistance as of February 2010.

•    Parent copayments: In 2010, a family of three with an income at 100 percent of poverty ($18,310 a year) receiving child care assistance paid $43 per month, or 3 percent of its income in copayments. A family of three with an income at 150 percent of poverty ($27,465 a year) receiving child care assistance paid $152 per month, or 7 percent of its income in copayments.

•    Reimbursement rates: In 2010, Arizona’s reimbursement rates for child care providers serving families receiving child care assistance were below the federally recommended level—the 75th percentile of current market rates, which is the level designed to give families access to 75 percent of the providers in their community.
o    Arizona’s monthly reimbursement rate for center care for a four-year-old in Maricopa County was $265, or 34 percent, below the 75th percentile of current market rates for this type of care.
o    Arizona’s monthly reimbursement rate for center care for a one-year-old in Maricopa County was $325, or 36 percent, below the 75th percentile of current market rates for this type of care.

•    Tiered reimbursement rates: In 2010, Arizona paid higher reimbursement rates for higher-quality care.
o    The reimbursement rate for center care for a four-year-old in Maricopa County at the highest quality tier was 10 percent higher than the rate at the lowest quality tier.
o    The reimbursement rate for center care for a four-year-old in Maricopa County at the highest quality tier was still below the 75th percentile of current market rates.

•    Eligibility for parents searching for a job: In 2010, Arizona allowed parents to continue receiving child care for up to 60 days while searching for a job.¹  However, Arizona did not allow parents to qualify for child care assistance while searching for a job.² 

¹Each parent in a family receiving child care assistance can continue to receive it while searching for a job for up to two 30-day periods or one 60-day period in each 12-month period.
²Only certain Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) participants can qualify for child care assistance while searching for a job.

Source: Karen Schulman and Helen Blank, State Child Care Assistance Policies 2010: New Federal Funds Help States Weather the Storm (Washington, DC: National Women’s Law Center, 2010). These data reflect policies as of February 2010, unless otherwise indicated.