Arlington Community Foundation Shared Prosperity Initiative: Status Report on Efforts Made Toward More Affordable Child Care in Arlington February 2023 April 2023 Update - Community advocacy based on this report led the County Board in April 2023 to fund, beginning in FY 24, a new full-time senior level DHS position to support the implementation of the Child Care Action Plan, among other priorities.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Arlington Community Foundation (ACF) Shared Prosperity Initiative builds on years of prior County and community planning and civic engagement focused on preserving Arlington’s rich social and cultural fabric and eliminating existing disparities - particularly in the areas of affordable housing and affordable child care. We honor and carry this work forward as we seek to mitigate the displacement of our lowest income residents, especially those residents who make below 30% of our area median income (AMI), or less than $43,000 for a family of four. In early 2019, ACF convened a roundtable of business, nonprofit, and government leaders to address the displacement of these very low-income Arlingtonians. The roundtable honed in on affordable child care as one of several key focus areas and adopted a 5-year goal that built on the 2017-2018 Child Care Initiative (CCI). The Goal By 2024, through government and private investments and policy changes, an additional 1,000 children from very low-income Arlington families (30% AMI and below) will have access to quality child care. For context, the latest census data show there are nearly 1,800 Arlington children under age 6 who live in households at or below 150% of the federal poverty level ($41,625 for a family of 4) which is equivalent to making below 30% AMI. There are over 3,300 Arlington children who live in households below 60% AMI. Much has happened in the ensuing years since this goal was established—not the least of which was the pandemic with its many disruptive impacts on child care providers and working families who provide essential services. The inventory of all child care slots in Arlington is a combination of APS, private market, Head Start and others, each of which has different income eligibility rules making direct comparisons complex. For purposes of this report, “subsidized slots” are those funded by the Virginia Child Care Subsidy Program; “affordable slots” include all subsidized slots plus slots funded through APS, VIEW/TANF, Early/Head Start, private dollars or Arlington County.
February 2023
Page 1 of 10