PHOENIX -- About 200 child care providers and parents protested a scheduled fee increase for an Arizona child care license.
They told state officials the fee increase will put some child care providers out of business and force parents to pay more for child care during a public hearing at the Arizona Department of Health Services Tuesday afternoon.
DHS interim director William Humble said he will consider making changes to the fee structure based on the comments.
However, he said the fees will go up next year.
"Nobody wants these fee increases and I certainly don’t want these fee increases, but I also can’t have the statutory mandate and responsibility to make sure kids are safe ... and have no money to do it," said Humble.
Only 90 people were allowed to attend the public hearing due to the size of the department's auditorium.
Many protesters were angry they were not given the opportunity to voice their concerns to Humble and other state officials.
"I was very upset," said child care provider Barbara Arnold. "I think they should have made it where we could all be heard. That’s why we came."
Parents who attended the rally and a rally on the capitol lawn said the cost of child care is already too high and they cannot afford to pay more.
"It’s going to be a little bit of an emergency state for us trying to figure out what we’re going to do," Jamie Seeker said.