The Child Care Gap in Arlington: What It Means for Families

Only 1 in 3 preschoolers in low-income Arlington households have access to affordable full-day childcare that enables their parents to work full-time.

And for infants under two in Arlington, the rate is much worse: 1 in 10, according to our latest data analysis.

That leaves many parents scrambling to piece together childcare arrangements, often working in part-time and/or low-quality jobs without benefits – if they can work consistently at all. Despite overall growth in market-rate childcare options since Arlington County launched its Childcare Initiative in 2017, there is still not enough affordable, full-day care for low-income working families.

Studies show that high-quality, affordable childcare gives kids the strong start they need to excel socially, emotionally, and academically once they start Kindergarten. It also allows parents to seek quality employment opportunities, and our local economy to grow. But in Arlington, many low-income families can’t access this care.

Why isn’t there more affordable childcare?

1. Costs Outpace Support: Arlington’s market cost for childcare is twice the state average and the highest in the U.S. Meanwhile, subsidy programs for full-day care only serve 23% of children ages 0-5. 
   
2. High Median Incomes Obscure Needs: State eligibility rules don’t factor in Arlington’s local cost of living, which often means that low-income families fall just above eligibility cut-offs, despite facing an uphill climb to make ends meet. Learn more about these benefit cliff effects here.
   
3. One-Size-Fits-All Strategies Fall Short: Efforts to grow overall childcare supply doesn’t always translate to affordable slots for low-income families. And typical employer benefits often don’t reach families working multiple low-wage jobs or nontraditional hours.

Why can’t one parent just stay home?

For most families earning low incomes, dropping out of the workforce isn’t an option. Unless a partner earns over $104,000 per year, staying home with a child just isn’t financially possible. That’s far above what most hourly workers in Arlington make.

What we’re doing about it

At Arlington Community Foundation, we’re focused on making childcare affordable for low-income working families, to support both economic mobility and our region’s future. Our recent efforts to close the gap include:

• – Successfully advocating for staff capacity at Arlington DHS to focus on affordability initiatives
• – Joining the Ready Regions Council to strengthen early childhood systems statewide
• – Facilitating Arlington’s use of new state funding (Mixed Delivery) in 2024
• – Publishing new research and policy recommendations with Virginia Tech

What you can do

• – Read our latest childcare gap analysis to learn what’s working and what still needs fixing
• – Encourage local leaders to prioritize affordability for families earning under $50,000 (i.e. those earning below 30% Area Median Income)
• – Share your story about what affordable childcare has meant for your family by emailing us at nknock@arlcf.org
• – Sign up for updates to stay informed and involved

Together, we can make Arlington a place where all families—regardless of income—have access to the childcare they need to thrive. We hope you’ll stay engaged and help push this work forward.

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