Annual Joint Legislative Budget Committee Child Care Report
for the Period July 1, 2016 – June 30, 2017
Pursuant to A.R.S. § 46-810, the annual report for members of the Joint Legislative Budget
Committee (JLBC) is provided. The information reflects statewide data for state fiscal year
(SFY) 2017, and provides comparative information from SFY 2016. The caseload and financial
data for this report were gathered from the Arizona Child Care Automated Tracking System
(AzCCATS), except where otherwise noted.
1. The monthly average number of families and children served by each of the child care
programs administered by the Arizona Department of Economic Security (ADES).

Child Care Program
Temporary Assistance for
Needy Families (TANF)
Cash Assistance Related

Average
Number
of
Families
Served
Monthly
during
SFY 2017

Employed Child Care
Jobs Child Care
Transitional Child Care
(TCC)
TCC Extension
Low Income Working
Special Circumstances
Dept. of Child Safety
Totals

Average
Number of
Families
Served
Monthly
During SFY
2016

Percent
Change
in
Average
Number
of
Families
Served

Average
Number
of
Children
Served
Monthly
During
SFY 2017

Average
Number
of
Children
Served
Monthly
During
SFY2016

Percent
Change
In
Average
Monthly
Served
Children
Served

402
650
1,933

346
792
1,566

16.2%
-17.9%
23.4%

744
1,229
3,759

654
1,472
3,053

13.8%
-16.5%
23.1%

602
5,961
351
5,570
15,469

918
6,563
274
5,855
16,314

-34.4%
-9.2%
28.1%
-4.9%
-5.2%

1,232
11,762
612
9,316
28,654

1,865
12,590
463
9,903
30,000

-33.9%
-6.6%
32.2%
-5.9%
-4.5%

2. The total number of dollars spent on child care for each of the child care programs
administered by ADES.
Child Care Program
TANF Cash Assistance Related
Employed Child Care
Jobs Child Care
Transitional Child Care
Transitional Child Care Extension
Low Income Working
Special Circumstances
Dept. of Child Safety
Totals

Annual JLBC Child Care Report
September 26, 2017

Expenditures
SFY 2017
$3,135.9
$5,020.4
$16,357.3
$5,327.9
$51,323.8
$2,569.0
$45,704.8
$129,439.1

Expenditures
SFY 2016
$2,563.6
$5,919.4
$12,207.6
$7,760.3
$51,246.9
$1,531.0
$48,166.8
$129,394.6

Expenditures
Percent Change
22.4%
-15.2%
34.0%
-31.3%
0.2%
67.8%
-5.1%
0.0%

Page 1

3. The number of recipients eligible for Transitional Medical Assistance (TMA) and child
care benefits.
SFY 2017
SFY 2016
Percent Change
Transitional Medical Assistance
68,178
47,247
44.30%
Eligible
Transitional Child Care Eligible
5,253
5,726
-8.26%
Transitional Medical Assistance data are from the Family Assistance Administration.

4. The number of recipients who accept TMA and child care benefits specifying how many
recipients have received these services for less than 12 months and those who have
received these services for more than 12 months.
SFY 2017
Received Transitional Medical
Assistance
< 12 months
68,178
Received Transitional Medical
Assistance
> 12 months
Not Applicable
Received Transitional Child
Care < 12 months
3,759
Received Transitional Child
Care > 12 months
1,232
TMA has not been available after 12 months since SFY 2003.

SFY 2016

Percent Change

47,247

44.30%

Not Applicable

Not Applicable

3,053

6.16%

1,865

3.10%

5. The number of applicants waiting for services under the state child care subsidy and
federal child care programs for working families.
SFY 2017
Number of applicants waiting for
service at the beginning of SFY

SFY 2016
3,565

Percent Change
496

618.75%

Families on the priority waiting list are released based on their current priority level (based
on current gross monthly income) and the date of application. Priority on the waiting list
starts with those families at or below 100 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) and
continues with each successive 10 percent increase in the FPL up to the maximum allowable
FPL of 165 percent. Priority is given based on income regardless of time spent on the
waiting list. ADES assesses the availability of funding and the number of children who no
longer receive child care services to determine the number of children and families that will
be released. The waiting list releases are anticipated to be conducted monthly.
6. Co-payment levels for each of the child care programs administered by DES.
Both federal Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) regulations and Arizona Revised
Statutes (A.R.S.) require that ADES develop a sliding fee scale, which maintains child care
cost-sharing between the state and families. Co-payments are imposed for all children in
non-mandatory categories in accordance with A.R.S. § 46-803(K)(3), including low-income
Annual JLBC Child Care Report
September 26, 2017

Page 2

working, teen parent in high school, and special circumstances, but not Department of Child
Safety (DCS) referred families and families receiving cash assistance.
The ADES sliding fee scale (see attachment CC-229 (9-16)), effective September 1, 2016,
consists of seven fee levels. Parents are required to pay between one and five dollars per
day per child. Families are also responsible for paying the full difference in cost between the
child care provider’s actual charges and the maximum that ADES pays. Eligibility for child
care assistance continues to be set at 165 percent of the FPL; however, once the eligibility is
determined, child care assistance will continue for one year as long as the income does not
exceed 85 percent of State Median Income, as specified in A.R.S. § 46-803. The sliding fee
scale for SFY 2017 was revised to reflect changes in federal poverty guidelines for 2016.
Child care assistance for families eligible under the block grant eligibility categories (such as
low-income working, teen parent, and unable/unavailable), is limited to six children in the
eligible family at any given time. Co-payments will be assigned to all eligible children who
require assistance. For families receiving Transitional Child Care (TCC), no co-payment is
required beyond the third child in the family, and there is no limit to the number of eligible
children who may be authorized for assistance.
7. The total number of payments to relatives for child care and the number of children
served.
Child Care Program
TANF Cash Assistance Related

Employed Child Care
Jobs Child Care
Transitional Child Care
Transitional Child Care
Extension
Low Income Working
Special Circumstances
Dept. of Child Safety
Totals

Co-Payments
Collected
SFY 2017

Co-Payments
Collected
SFY 2016

Co-Payments
Collected
Percent Change

$$$1,145,000
$478,700

$$$1,075,700
$796,000

6.4%
-39.9%

$4,642,200
$135,700
$$6,401,400

$5,627,900
$103,500
$$7,603,100

-17.5%
31.1%
-15.8%

Regardless of any required co-payments, all families must pay any difference in cost between
the maximum that ADES pays and the amount the child care provider actually charges.
8. The total number of payments to relatives for child care and the number of children
served.
SFY 2017
Total number of payments to
relatives for child care
Number of children served

Annual JLBC Child Care Report
September 26, 2017

$2,946,430
2,323

SFY 2016
$2,871,985
2,438

Percent Change
2.59%
-4.72%

Page 3

9. Any changes in payment rate schedules and maximum provider rates from the previous
fiscal year, and the reason for those changes.
Maximum reimbursement rates for SFY 2017 were the same as the rates for SFY 2016,
which reflected the 75th percentile of the 2000 market rate survey (see attachment CCA1227AFORNA (2-17)). In order for ADES to comply with the Child Care and Development
Block Grant (CCDBG) recommendation to set provider rates at a current market rate, ADES
would, on average, need to increase rates by 44 percent. In FY2016 ADES requested and
was granted a waiver to extend the due date from September 30, 2017 to September 30, 2018
to certify that payment rates are sufficient to ensure equal access based on current market rate
survey.
10. The number of families providing child care as a work activity in order to meet the
Federal Work Participation Rates established pursuant to Public Law 104-193.
Public Law 104-193, as modified by Public Law 109-171, identifies 12 activities as
allowable work activities for individuals receiving TANF Cash Assistance. This list includes
“the provision of child care services to an individual who is participating in a community
service program.” A.R.S. § 46-101.24 does not include the preceding as a countable work
activity. ADES does not promote or track the provision of unpaid child care services by
TANF Cash Assistance recipients for the children of other Cash Assistance recipients for the
purpose of meeting the work participation rate.
The rationale for not using this unpaid child care activity is described below:
a. Encouraging the use of untrained and uncompensated Cash Assistance recipients as child
care providers could jeopardize the safety of children and could place ADES in a position
of liability for any resultant harm or injury.
b. In accordance with CCDF regulations, Arizona utilizes a parental choice model within
the Child Care Assistance Program. Requiring Cash Assistance recipients to utilize other
Cash Assistance recipients in the provision of child care services would be inconsistent
with the parental choice requirement, which requires that the parent be allowed to select
among different provider types.
c. Developing and managing a process to track the hours of unpaid child care activities
would be administratively burdensome at best. It is doubtful that the benefits of this
proposition would outweigh the costs since the activity would not lead to gainful
employment and would not assist the Cash Assistance recipient in becoming selfsufficient.

Annual JLBC Child Care Report
September 26, 2017

Page 4