Rebecca Gau Pushes Arizona Childcare Money This Session

childcare subsidies – Rebecca Gau, executive director of Stand for Children, argues Arizona must fund childcare faster as the childcare subsidy waitlist tops 12,000 children, warning the delay is hitting families and the state’s economy—while she also calls for protecting early edu

When Arizona families are forced to juggle the cost of childcare against the need to work, the waitlist for subsidies becomes more than a spreadsheet problem—it’s an economic one, Gau said, and it’s urgent.

Rebecca Gau. executive director of Stand for Children. pointed to the current childcare subsidy backlog. noting that “the waitlist for childcare subsidies is now at more than 12. 000 kids.” In an interview with the Arizona Capitol Times. she framed the situation as a crisis for parents and a drag on hiring for employers. arguing lawmakers should move money this legislative session even as budgets tighten.

Gau said childcare is so expensive that families often compare it to housing costs and other major expenses.. “Cost of childcare. regardless of whether it’s quality childcare or not. the cost of childcare is often the same as your mortgage payment. ” she said. adding it can also match college tuition.. She argued nearly 20% of family budgets are going toward childcare.

That spending pressure, in her view, ripples through the broader economy.. Gau said the policy stakes are high: she described childcare constraints as reducing labor participation because some families have to keep a parent at home.. “It’s about a $5 billion hit to our economy. ” she said. pointing to research she said shows that investing in childcare support would generate far more in return.. “The Center for the Future of Arizona has a data point that if we were to invest properly in support of childcare. it would inject $12 billion into our economy.”

On the policy ask, Gau said the real test is what legislators will support in the year’s budget cycle.. She acknowledged $160 million could be difficult to secure but said at least a lower amount is still worth fighting for.. “I think $45 million is realistic.. Last year got $45 million one-time, so I think that’s what would likely happen again this year,” she said.. “Something is better than nothing.”

For Gau. that approach mirrors a broader pattern in her work: pushing education and child development policies that connect near-term needs to long-term outcomes.. She described spending more than three decades bridging public policy. education and child development—starting with a Capitol Hill internship in 1993. moving into Arizona State University’s Morrison Institute. working as vice president for the Charter Schools Association. and later joining former Gov.. Jan Brewer’s office to lead the governor’s education reform plan.

Working for Brewer’s administration. Gau said. was an “absolute honor and privilege.” She also brought up Senate Bill 1070. which she said happened right before she started in the office. and said she was not involved in that debate.. Still, she argued Brewer’s commitment to education policy was consistent even amid controversy.. “Brewer’s commitment was to all Arizona students and that controversy didn’t impact her desire to do the right thing for all of Arizona’s children. ” she said.

Gau’s childcare push fits alongside other education priorities she said her organization backed this session.. She said Stand for Children supported child tax credit bills and was “very invested” in the Ninth Grade on Track grant. which she described as at risk of being cut.. The program. she said. is funded by the Arizona Department of Education and provides high schools up to $150 per ninth grader.

She argued the grant’s design is targeted at a specific failure point in schooling.. “It invests in research-based methods of ensuring they finish their first year of high school with a quarter of their credit requirements complete while also failing no more than one course. ” Gau said.. “Finishing a quarter of their credits in their ninth grade year is the highest predictor of whether or not a student will graduate on time.”

That focus on students who slip in transition years ties into what Gau described as the education system’s biggest challenges—especially funding.. She said Arizona is confronting problems tied to enrollment and concerns about a dip in the birth rate. arguing that when school funding depends on student numbers. the loss of students is more than a headcount issue.. “It’s losing the kids that pay for that teacher’s salary. ” she said. creating what she described as a “structural imbalance” in schools.

Gau also criticized Arizona’s approach to Empowerment Scholarship Accounts. “The politics of Empowerment Scholarship Accounts has created a bigger problem,” she said, adding that even national ESA advocates do not view Arizona’s system as a model. She said the system lacks accountability.

Beyond funding and school policy. Gau pointed to broader pressures on young people’s mental health. drawing a line she said predates the pandemic.. She said Covid worsened many kids’ circumstances but that some issues were already unfolding.. “The research shows that the beginning of the mental health crisis with teens started in the early 2010s. ” she said. linking the rise to increased cell phone ownership and social media use.. For her organization. that has become a top priority. including efforts to shape a shared definition of what counts as age-appropriate technology use.

Another flashpoint for Gau is the funding stream for early childhood education through First Things First.. She called it “fascinating” and said early childhood advocates are “jealous” of voters who supported the idea.. But she also cited a decline in revenue.. “Its revenue has decreased by more than $60 million since the program was created,” she said.

When asked what’s driving that drop. Gau said the initiative’s original wording tied early childhood education funding to tobacco products sales.. She said technology and consumer changes—such as vaping and other substitutes following marijuana legalization—have complicated the way those revenue streams work.. “We have very much supported the vape tax bill,” she said.

Gau closed with a plea aimed at the Capitol itself: finding ways to work across differences on a few shared goals. “I just hope we can get back to a place where we don’t have to agree 100% on everything, but we can at least work together on doing the right thing,” she said.

Rebecca Gau Stand for Children Arizona education policy childcare subsidies waitlist First Things First Ninth Grade on Track grant child tax credit Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Jan Brewer vape tax bill teen mental health