childcare programs
Our accredited children’s programs are among only 10% of the childcare programs in Arizona that meet the gold standard of the NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children).
Our licensed childcare center is located at 7800 North 59th Avenue and is the cornerstone of our family development program.
childcare can devastate a budget
Take an example of a single-parent family with just two young children, one and three years old. A low average cost to have children of these ages in a professional childcare setting is approximately $160 per week per child. Here's how a the family's monthly budget looks with and without Center support:
| w/o GFDC support | w/ GFDC support | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Single-parent’s earnings | $10.00 per hour | $1,733.33 | $1,733.33 |
| Child support | $300 per month | 300.00 | 300.00 |
| Total Income | $ 2033.33 | $ 2033.33 | |
| Childcare costs for 2 children | $320 per week | 1,386.67 | |
| * GFDC parent contribution | $40 per week | 172.00 | |
| Gross Income Difference | $ 646.67 | $ 1,861.33 | *The Parent Contribution is determined according to a family’s income by applying the D.E.S. sliding scale.
Note: Government childcare assistance is not available to households earning more than $2,000. Even when the household income is less, many don’t qualify for D.E.S. childcare assistance when the parents are born outside of the U.S. even when the children are born within the U.S. Currently our government will not provide childcare assistance to children whose parents are not U.S. born. |
This scenario illustrates a critical point about childcare's relationship to the poverty cycle. Even earning a “decent” hourly wage (much higher than many of the Center’s parents) and receiving child support, the household has a gross income of $647 per month after childcare costs. This is not enough to pay rent, car, gas, insurance, food, healthcare, clothing and personal care.
how the Center helps
Conversely, the family budget receiving a GFDC childcare scholarship has a gross income that is livable – even after paying the cost of childcare. In this scenario children receive care and nurturing in a stable environment that prepares them to enter school as confident children proficient in all of the skills needed to thrive in elementary school.