Operators of child care centers are organizing to battle a proposed increase in state licensing fees.
The Arizona Child Care Association says the new fees will have a negative impact on small businesses, faith-based providers, non-profits, parents and communities that will lose child care. It also said the fees likely will increase unregulated care.
Jackie Louis, who owns Early Childhood Centre in north Phoenix, has vowed to fight the fee hike every step of the way and has organized a task force to fight it.
"To put this increase on my families is out of the question," said Louis, who said her three-year license could jump from $150 to more than $13,000.
"To think that it's an 8,000 percent as an increase for me is unheard of," she said.
Louis said she could support a fair licensing increase, but those hikes proposed to take effect on Jan. 1 are outrageous and unreasonable.
She said the higher fees would make it tough for centers to stay open and hard for parents to find quality affordable child care.
"There won't be any centers, there won't be any preschools, there won't be any church centers. They won't be there," said Louis.
Unregulated child care facilities would flourish, she said, and children would go "underground."
"Underground means they're going into unlicensed care, there's going to be a lot more abuse."
She added, "That is frightening and we have parents who are so concerned right at this point because, number one, grandma can't take care of the children all the time."
Louis has operated child care facilities in the Valley for more than 20 years and said her biggest concern is what is going to happen to the children.
She challenged those who proposed the higher licensing fees to "come out to a quality care center, ideally an independent center that takes all socio-economic families and just watch and see how much those families depend on us."
Louis urged every parent to contact Gov. Jan Brewer's office about the increased fees.