Arkansas Department of Education creates searchable child care provider database
The Arkansas Department of Education launched a searchable database Monday that allows parents to search for licensed child care providers throughout the state.
Childcare Arkansas includes a range of search options such as county, city, ZIP code and “Better Beginnings” quality ratings. The Arkansas Department of Human Services ranks child care quality on a scale of one to six.
The database also allows searches for specific criteria such as the ages of the children accepted at a facility, hours of operation, whether transportation is provided and whether the provider accepts school vouchers via the LEARNS Act. The search function includes an interactive map of results.
The LEARNS Act is a wide-ranging 2023 education law that includes several early childhood education provisions, among them the requirement for the new “parent-friendly” website. The law also requires “local lead” organizations throughout the state to assess local and regional access to pre-K and what gaps or barriers should be addressed. The Childcare Arkansas site includes a search function for local leads.
“Through the LEARNS Act, which created the Local Leads program, and tools like this website, we are empowering Arkansas families to make informed decisions and helping set our children on the path to success from early childhood on,” Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in Monday’s news release announcing Childcare Arkansas.
The website also allows parents to file complaints against child care facilities and search the School Readiness Assistant portal, which provides eligible families with “free or reduced childcare at approved state licensed providers, pending the availability of funds,” according to the portal’s website.
The LEARNS Act also moved the state’s Office of Early Childhood from the Department of Human Services to the Department of Education. The law “codified a commitment to improve access to quality childcare providers and streamlined education from cradle to career,” Secretary of Education Jacob Oliva said in Monday’s news release.
In 2023, child care for infants in Arkansas cost only 1.8% less than four-year public college tuition and 22.5% less than the average rent cost, according to a study released earlier this year by the Economic Policy Institute.
Arkansans have historically faced more challenges accessing quality child care than residents of other states, and Arkansas remains one of the worst states for child well-being overall, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation.