EXCERPT FROM: The Arizona Republic
By Casey Newton
Licensing fees for Arizona child-care facilities will rise less sharply than first proposed thanks to a creative use of federal funds by the Department of Health Services.
Officials at DHS, which last month unveiled plans to make child-care centers pay for the entire cost of regulating their businesses, announced Monday that they would subsidize part of the cost with federal funds.
To qualify for the discounted fee - $3,900 for a three-year license for the largest facilities, instead of the $13,442 proposed last month - facilities must agree to a 10-point program of health and education. Requirements include encouraging at least 60 minutes of physical activities each day, limiting exposure to television and video games, and making all campuses smoke-free. The requirements allow DHS to use federal funds set aside for women and small children and for tobacco education.
"It's the kinds of things parents like" for their children, said Will Humble, interim DHS director. "They love physical activity. They love better nutrition."
Facilities that opt not to participate in the program will pay higher rates, which range from $500 for a 10-child facility to $3,900 for a facility with 60 children or more.
Currently, the state's 2,700 registered child-care facilities pay $150 for a three-year license.
The state's budget crisis led lawmakers to cut agency budgets dramatically, prompting DHS to propose making all the facilities it regulates pay the full cost of regulation.
Other facilities regulated by the department, including hospitals and nursing homes, will see their fees rise to the levels announced last month.
The availability of federal funds for child-care facilities, along with the outcry from business owners and lawmakers, led DHS to establish the discounted-fee structure.