Like the Democrats in the Arizona State Legislature, Governor Katie Hobbs has been championing legislative and budget proposals to make life affordable, prosperous, and comfortable for the Grand Canyon State’s Lower and Middle Classes.
One idea that she promoted in interviews to both ABC and Fox News is her Bright Futures AZ Plan, a vision included in her Fiscal Year 2026 balanced budget proposal to expand child care opportunities for Arizona’s families while also reducing what they have to pay.
This plan, if enacted would be improve child development and early childhood education while strengthening Arizona’s workforce and economy by relieving workplace tensions for parents who currently have no sustainable options to provide child care when they have to be on the job.
On both news channels, the Governor explained the reasons why Bright Futures AZ is necessary to help people and how it would accomplish that.
In both interviews, Hobbs pointed out that “A family right now is paying more annually for child care than they would pay for in-state tuition at any of our state universities. It’s on average 1200 a month per child.”
She also noted that the lack of affordable child care options for Arizona families strains workforce environment and productivity and economic outlays, costing the state “$4.7 billion in economic losses.”
She said that families with children from infants to school age would be eligible if their income is $150,000 or less.
On how her Bright Futures AZ vision would be set up, the Governor said to both ABC and Fox News:
“Our plan has several components. The first one is creating a public private partnership which would cut the cost for families up to two-thirds where the state contributes, a third of the cost, the employer is contributing a third and then the family would be responsible for the other third. That would be A huge relief for so many families. We are also trying to incentivize employers to provide or expand existing child care that they already offered to their employees through a tax incentives as well as making after school and summer care, more affordable, expanding the options there. And then, finally, a micro business lending component for smaller providers.”
On incentives for Arizona businesses to subscribe to this program, the Governor said to ABC News:
“Our plan also includes incentives for businesses to expand existing child care options that they provide in-house for their employees or to start to provide those ff they don’t already. We knew that we had to bring employers into this conversation because this is an issue for families but it is also a huge issue for employers. You talked about workforce and employers experiencing all kinds of economic disruptions because of child care issues of their employees.”
The Governor said that they were looking at successful businesses who have incorporated in house child care options as a model for programs to approve.
Ms. Hobbs also said that her plans would extend to rural communities throughout the state where affordable child care options are not as plentiful.
The Governor also conveyed the positive benefits to the child’s development and upbringing by having more affordable child care options, saying to Fox News “Even as a parent, the stress of not having to worry about where your kids are that, knowing that they’re in a quality environment.”
At the end of both interviews, Ms. Hobbs expressed hope that public support would help carry these affordable child care proposals contained in her Bright Futures AZ Vision across the finish line in budget negotiations.
On ABC News, the Governor said that the initial cost for the Bright Futures AZ Program for this year would be $100 million as a “starting point” with projected increases in future budgets.
One would think with the Empowerment Scholarship Account Program approaching a billion dollars in the annual budget, the state coffers can sustain $100 million to help provide affordable and quality child care which would be a more prudent cost effective investment in Arizona’s families and the state economy than the MAGA welfare for the wealthy private school voucher program.
However, with MAGA Republicans at the State Legislature holding funding for disabled children hostage, this is probably going to be hard drag out fight to get the Bright Futures AZ Program enacted.
Arizonans need to contact their legislators and tell them that they want affordable child care options for their families.
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