Arkansas Department of Education Changes to School Readiness Assistance Program Will Harm Families, Child Care Providers, and the State’s Workforce
On Friday, September 19, the Arkansas Department of Education announced sweeping changes to the School Readiness Assistance Program that will make child care for eligible families less affordable, create barriers for providers to offer high quality care, and even make it difficult for providers to keep programs running. School Readiness Assistance provides vouchers to help offset the high cost of care for eligible families and is our state’s Child Care and Development Block Grant program.
More families who are already struggling to make ends meet will be required to pay a co-payment to continue participating in the program as a result of the announced changes. Last year, Arkansas made strides by eliminating copayments for families whose household income was between 40-75% of the state median income (SMI). Now, the state is reverting to old ways and requiring payment from those families with incomes over 40% of SMI who just recently got relief. Federal rules prohibit copayments higher than 7% of a family’s income, but our new structure lists a dollar rate that could exceed that amount.
Arkansas’s reimbursement rate structure for providers is also reversing course, instead of continuing to progress. Historically, the state incentivized quality by offering higher reimbursement rates based on what quality level a provider earned. Now, reimbursement rates will be a flat rate system, with the rate set depending on the type of care provided, like infant or school-aged. Participating child care providers in most of the state will experience an average decrease in reimbursement of 18.5%. Some providers will lose $39 per day for each eligible infant enrolled in their programs.
The LEARNS Act required engagement with stakeholders to create a seamless early childhood educational system that addresses access to quality child care, but these unilateral changes move the state in the opposite direction. These changes will likely result in child care staff losing jobs, lower quality child care programs, increased prices for private payers, providers struggling even more to make ends meet, families who cannot afford the copayment losing access to child care, and ultimately, a harsher system for the families who need support the most.
It is disheartening that these changes were made without transparency and blindsided families and the early childhood care and education community. The changes were announced on September 19, 2025, and go into effect on October 1. There is no time for providers and families to plan, and children are the ones left to feel the impact.
Visit Arkansas Advocates for children & families to find out more.