71% of women that have children under 5 are in the workforce

In the state of Arkansas, 35% live in a single parent home, 59% of infants and toddlers live in low income families.

Nationwide, 71% of women that have a child under the age of 5 are in the workforce.

74% of the women that drop out of the workforce say lack of decent childcare is the reason why.

American women drop out of the workforce every year, and 74 percent say the lack of decent child care is the primary reason why. The lack of child care for lower-wage workers can force parents to choose between losing a job and settling for sub-optimal care.

In Northwest Arkansas, the labor participation rate for females with a child under the age of 5 is significantly lower than comparable regions due to the lack of affordable and accessible quality early education

Families whose children are not in a high-quality program are 6 times less likely to remain in the workforce

Working families whose children do not attend a high-quality early childhood program are six times less likely to remain in the workforce, have lower household earnings, and have increased dependency on social services. Northwest Arkansas has identified access to high-quality early childhood programs the #1 quality of life concern in our region. Northwest Arkansas cannot continue to be a premier job growth region unless high-quality child care options grow along with it.

Today our area continues to rank as a premier job growth region, but our community has identified access to high-quality early childhood programs the top quality of life concern.