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Conan Knoll
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Jared Thompson
jared@smallbusinessforamericasfuture.org, (260) 797-2530

AZ Small business leaders urge Congress to act on high cost of child care, which impacts their ability to grow, hire and retain employees

State Rep. Sierra and small business owners joins Small Business for America’s Future and Local First Arizona for virtual briefing on impacts of high cost of child care

Washington, D.C., August 27, 2021—Small Business for America’s Future and Local First Arizona hosted a virtual discussion Thursday with Arizona State Rep. Lorenzo Sierra and small business owners to talk about the impacts of the high cost of child care on Arizona small businesses and to urge Congress to find a solution.

“The lack of affordable, high-quality child care directly impacts our ability to grow and sustain our business,” said Tiara Flynn, President & CEO of Sumnu Marketing, and a member of Small Business for America’s Future Small Business Council. “Covid-19 has exacerbated these challenges and small business owners want to see our leaders in Washington find solutions. Small business owners can’t reach their full potential if their ability to operate and to hire and keep good employees is hamstrung by high child care costs.” 

Small Business for America's Future this month fielded a survey of more than 1,000 small business owners nationally in order to better understand how child care impacts small businesses and how they feel about a variety of policy solutions. 

Small Business for America’s Future shared the survey responses from Arizona small business owners—which echoed the national findings—during the event. It found that the majority of the Arizona small business owners surveyed believe that the lack of affordable, high-quality child care for employees has had a negative impact on their business, and most said the federal government has a role to play in supporting universal access to affordable child care.

“Our network of local businesses in Arizona have emphasized that their success is directly tied to hiring and retaining a talented workforce,” said Thomas Barr, Vice President of Business Development at Local First Arizona. “Small businesses continue to be in need of additional capital, infrastructure, and investments in child care to be competitive and recruit workers.”

Small Business for America’s Future ‘s national child care survey showed broad support for federal action on child care, including:

• 66% of small business owners nationally believe the federal government has a role in supporting universal access to affordable, high-quality child care
• 64% support direct, ongoing financial assistance to families for child care services 
• 70% support federal funding dedicated to providing child care services to underserved communities

“Child care has one of the largest returns on investment that public dollars can get. Arizona is making progress at the state level, but we need help from our friends in Congress to truly move the needle for Main Street,” said State Rep. Lorenzo Sierra, who represents District 19 in the Arizona House of Representative. “I’m asking all Arizonans to join me in making sure our Congressional delegation knows that our small business community wants Washington to act on child care.”

The full recording of the event can be viewed here. 

To request an interview with Tiara Flynn, Thomas Barr or Rep. Sierra contact Jared Thompson at (260) 797-2530 or jared@smallbusinessforamericasfuture.org.

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About Small Business for America’s Future
Small Business for America’s Future is a national coalition of small business owners and leaders working to provide small businesses a voice at every level of government. We’re committed to ensuring policymakers prioritize the nation’s 30 million small businesses to create an economy that works for them, their workers and their communities. Visit www.smallbusinessforamericasfuture.org. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook. #SmallBizAF.