By: Antoinette Grajeda-Oct. 29, 2025 Arkansas Advocate
Addressing barriers to childcare licensing in Arkansas, such as regulatory burdens and dependence on federal funding, could lead to greater access to care, particularly in underserved and rural areas of the state, according to a report released Wednesday.
The national, nonprofit, nonpartisan “think-and-do-tank” United WE commissioned the University of Arkansas’ Office for Education Policy to produce the new report, which was also supported by funding from the Walton Family Foundation.
United WE is focused on “elevating” women’s labor force participation to strengthen the economy, and the group’s research has consistently found a “lack of affordable, accessible childcare” is keeping women out of the workforce, President and CEO Wendy Doyle said during a virtual press conference Wednesday. State Sen. Breanne Davis, a Russellville Republican and mother of four, agreed.
“We know in Arkansas that women are drastically underemployed and that’s due in large part, I think, to having childcare options available in all areas across the state,” Davis said.
Around 41% of Arkansas’ population live in rural areas, which often have a limited supply of childcare providers, according to the study. Smaller, dispersed populations make it challenging for programs to remain financially viable. Recruiting and retaining qualified staff is also difficult because of lower wages and fewer professional opportunities compared to urban areas, according to the report.
Addressing childcare shortages in rural areas requires targeted strategies reflective of a community’s needs, including home-based programs and financial incentives, such as subsidies or grants, that can stabilize programs and attract new providers, according to the report.
Researchers conducted about 50 interviews and six focus groups as part of the year-long study. Those conversations helped them identify six core challenges for Arkansas’ early childhood care providers and recommend the following solutions:
Licensing and regulatory burdens: Streamline licensing, enhance provider and specialist support, and improve collaboration with local governments by simplifying processes, aligning state and local requirements, and creating a centralized structure to coordinate services, provide consistent guidance, and tailor resources to community needs.
Financial barriers: Provide financial support through subsidies for background checks, state-backed insurance options, and grants or low-interest loans for facility upgrades and compliance.
Workforce shortages: Expand workforce support by offering low-cost professional development, creating career pathways for entry-level staff, and coordinating background checks to reduce redundancy.
Zoning and code enforcement challenges: Modernize zoning and land-use codes to permit childcare in residential and mixed-use areas, establish pre-approved “Child Care Zones,” and simplify applications for compliance.
Dependence on federal funding: Diversify funding sources to reduce dependence on federal funding by expanding state-level support, creating public-private partnerships, and offering flexible grants or loans.
Family childcare barriers: Recruit and sustain family childcare homes in rural areas by replicating successful pilot programs, pairing new providers with mentorship, and providing business development support.
Streamlining licensing and inspections “is the easiest barrier to remove,” said Sarah McKenzie, the Office of Education Policy’s executive director and one of the report’s authors. The LEARNS Act, a wide-ranging education law approved in 2023, “resulted in that tangible improvement, but there’s more work to do, especially when it comes to aligning state and local requirements,” McKenzie said.
The LEARNS Act shifted licensing authority and most federal early childhood education funding from the Arkansas Department of Human Services to the Arkansas Department of Education, which helped streamline responsibilities that used to be divided among multiple state agencies, according to the report.
Drafts of revised childcare licensing guidelines, which are “part of a broader strategic plan aimed at enhancing early childhood education across the state,” are currently under review and are expected to be presented to the state’s Early Childhood Commission for approval in the coming months, according to the report.
McKenzie also highlighted a recommendation to “expand state funding and public-private partnerships to reduce the dependence on federal funding.”
“I don’t need to tell you how timely this recommendation is but, for example, New Mexico recently became the first U.S. state to offer free universal childcare for nearly all families and Virginia offers low-cost loans to eligible child care programs,” she said.
The new report comes as Arkansas is struggling to make its childcare assistance program financially sustainable, a challenge complicated by a lack of access to federal funding due to the government shutdown.
Recently announced changes to the School Readiness Assistance Program’s reimbursement rates and copayments resulted in public pushback, and the state’s Early Childhood Commission responded by meeting several times this month in search of alternative solutions. The commission formed an emergency working group that proposed a $28 million plan Tuesday that could sustain the program for eight weeks and forgo the need to ask the state Legislature for financial aid.
The state’s education department and the commission are expected to discuss the recommended plan and decide next steps by the end of the week. Without imminent changes to the funding formula, 250 childcare facilities in 50 of Arkansas’ 75 counties would see a total of 400 layoffs by next month, according to a survey presented to the commission Oct. 15.