Opinion | Now is the time to secure long-term support for early childhood

Jul 14, 2025 | Opinion |

By Phefelia Nez

I am writing to express my thanks for the recent critical investments from the Arizona legislature and Gov. Katie Hobbs to support Arizona’s youngest children and working families in this year’s budget. The $44.9 million in general fund support for child care assistance, paired with $81 million in federal Child Care and Development Fund authority, is a much-needed investment in our state’s economic infrastructure.

These investments reflect a growing, bipartisan understanding that early childhood is foundational to Arizona’s long-term economic competitiveness, workforce productivity and public health.

As former first lady of the Navajo Nation and a representative on the First Things First Navajo Nation Regional Council, I share with others that the earlier we invest in children, the better we are able to build a strong foundation for our children.

But we must be clear about the road ahead. Arizona continues to face a 25% gap between the supply and demand for quality, affordable child care. Thousands of working families remain on child-care waitlists or are forced to make an impossible choice between safe, quality care for their young children or continuing to work outside the home. At the same time, First Things First’s annual revenues have decreased by nearly 40%, more than $63 million a year, when compared to the level of funding we received when FTF began operations.

That reality places core early childhood services that FTF provides in our community, such as parental home visitation, developmental screenings, and quality early care and education, at serious risk.

That is why First Things First is ready to work with legislative leadership, agency partners, business leaders, and communities across the state to develop a dependable, long-term funding strategy for Arizona’s early childhood system.

What we do to financially support these critical services is about insuring the strength of Arizona’s growing economy, assisting our current and future workforce, and supporting our children and grandchildren.