REFERENCE TITLE: child care; grant program; fund

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

HB 2239

Introduced by

Representative Blackman

AN ACT

Amending title 41, chapter 14, ARTICLE 1, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 41-1971; relating to the department of economic SECURITY.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Title 41, chapter 14, article 1, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 41-1971, to read:

START_STATUTE41-1971. Child care grant program; child care infrastructure fund; administration; purpose; definitions

A. The Child care grant program is established to grant monies to eligible applicants to provide any of the following services to families in this state with CHILD CARE needs:

1. Early learning and CHILD CARE in underserved communities that have historically experienced a lack of accessible and affordable CHILD CARE, including rural areas.

2. Early learning and CHILD CARE in low-income and moderate-income communities.

3. CHILD CARE during nonstandard working hours, such as evenings and weekends.

4. CHILD CARE for infants and toddlers.

5. CHILD CARE for children who have disabilities.

B. The department shall administer the grant program and may adopt rules, policies and procedures to carry out the purposes of this section. An eligible applicant shall submit an application for a grant on a form PRESCRIBED by the DEPARTMENT.

C. The department shall provide assistance to grantees relating to any of the following:

1. CHILD CARE facility and capacity expansion.

2. Business strategy and operations support and training.

3. increasing or enhancing early learning and CHILD CARE capacity for federally recognized indian tribes, nations or communities.

D. The department may contract with a qualified community partner organization in this state to assist in administering the grant program.

E. The CHILD CARE infrastructure fund is established consisting of legislative appropriations, grants, gifts, contributions and devises. the DEPARTMENT shall administer the fund. on notice from the department, the state treasurer shall invest and divest monies in the fund as provided by section 35-313, and monies earned from investment shall be credited to the fund.  Monies in the fund are CONTINUOUSLY APPROPRIATED and may be used to pay the administrative costs of implementing this section and to establish the child care grant program pursuant to this section. Monies may also be used for any of the following:

1. planning and designing high quality early learning and CHILD CARE infrastructure.

2. acquiring property for high quality early learning and CHILd CARE infrastructure or CHILD CARE development projects.

3. Repairing, improving and renovating early learning and CHILD CARE infrastructure that would expand the capacity of the infrastructure.

4. CHILD CARE infrastructure development projects, including direct project management costs.

5. contracting with third parties, including nonprofit organizations and community development financial institutions, to assist in the administration of CHILD CARE infrastructure activities.

6. Child care Infrastructure construction costs and expenses.

7. CHILD CARE start-up expenses, including workforce development, licensing, insurance and accreditation.

8. early CHILD CARE infrastructure adaptations required by a licensing agency in this state.

9. providing support to establish or expand CHILD CARE provider operations and infrastructure, including training and technical assistance.

10. Any Other costs that the department determines to be necessary to carry out early CHILD CARE infrastructure activities in this state.

f. For the purposes of this section:

1. "child care" has the same meaning prescribed in section 36-881.

2. "Child care facility" has the same meaning prescribed in section 36-881.

3. "child care providers" has the same meaning prescribed in section 46-801.

4. "eligible applicant" means any of the following:

(a) a child care facility.

(b) a child care provider.

(c) a person that is interested in opening a child care facility or becoming a child care provider in this state.

(d) a person that is engaged in unlicensed or uncertified child care and that is interested in becoming a licensed or certified child care provider in this state.

5. "qualified community partner organization" means an entity with demonstrable experience in either:

(a) providing technical assistance to child care providers in this state.

(b) supporting the establishment or expansion of child care providers in this state. END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Legislative findings

The legislature finds that:

1. Early educational investments are severely underfunded.

2. There is a shortage of affordable and accessible child care in this state.

3. Early learning and child care providers have limited finances to facilitate expansion of robust child care infrastructure.

4. High quality early child care investment promotes regional economic growth by increasing the number of jobs available within the workforce and providing consistent, accessible and reliable child care that is necessary to allow parents to participate in the labor force.

5. Quality early learning and child care facilities are developmentally appropriate, inclusive of children with disabilities and create a healthy and supportive environment for a child's brain development are needed for the well-being of children and early learning and child care staff.

6. Sustained public investment and technical assistance are necessary to overcome constraints and to incentivize the development and expansion of early learning and child care resources in this state.

7. The purpose of this act is to provide financial assistance to eligible applicants for activities that promote increased early learning and child care capacity across this state.