Education
Access to Quality Childcare Seats for Preschoolers
Source: Arkansas Department of Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Access to Quality Seats
2019
Arkansas County45%
Ashley County78%
Baxter County65%
Benton County36%
Boone County60%
Bradley County124%
Calhoun County59%
Carroll County68%
Chicot County133%
Clark County85%
Clay County96%
Cleburne County40%
Cleveland County82%
Columbia County83%
Conway County66%
Craighead County59%
Crawford County52%
Crittenden County54%
Cross County60%
Dallas County256%
Desha County137%
Drew County77%
Faulkner County52%
Franklin County43%
Fulton County98%
Garland County92%
Grant County17%
Greene County54%
Hempstead County61%
Hot Spring County105%
Howard County61%
Independence County96%
Izard County63%
Jackson County84%
Jefferson County76%
Johnson County39%
Lafayette County159%
Lawrence County103%
Lee County67%
Lincoln County60%
Little River County58%
Logan County92%
Lonoke County47%
Madison County36%
Marion County53%
Miller County25%
Mississippi County103%
Monroe County104%
Montgomery County48%
Nevada County54%
Newton County79%
Ouachita County93%
Perry County34%
Phillips County65%
Pike County60%
Poinsett County60%
Polk County69%
Pope County57%
Prairie County69%
Pulaski County73%
Randolph County65%
Saline County36%
Scott County129%
Searcy County86%
Sebastian County50%
Sevier County51%
Sharp County81%
St. Francis County58%
Stone County81%
Union County96%
Van Buren County83%
Washington County40%
White County52%
Woodruff County81%
Yell County84%

Source: Arkansas Department of Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Notes: Quality seats per child aged 3 or 4




Number of Quality Seats
2019
Arkansas County202
Ashley County396
Baxter County473
Benton County2,667
Boone County593
Bradley County345
Calhoun County64
Carroll County427
Chicot County296
Clark County390
Clay County301
Cleburne County198
Cleveland County145
Columbia County432
Conway County345
Craighead County1,775
Crawford County879
Crittenden County771
Cross County262
Dallas County341
Desha County405
Drew County325
Faulkner County1,547
Franklin County169
Fulton County256
Garland County1,948
Grant County65
Greene County655
Hempstead County390
Hot Spring County659
Howard County240
Independence County947
Izard County170
Jackson County316
Jefferson County1,265
Johnson County286
Lafayette County161
Lawrence County357
Lee County100
Lincoln County115
Little River County179
Logan County396
Lonoke County957
Madison County158
Marion County172
Miller County295
Mississippi County1,168
Monroe County157
Montgomery County80
Nevada County112
Newton County116
Ouachita County506
Perry County80
Phillips County326
Pike County123
Poinsett County387
Polk County355
Pope County875
Prairie County136
Pulaski County7,761
Randolph County282
Saline County1,106
Scott County305
Searcy County144
Sebastian County1,623
Sevier County278
Sharp County277
St. Francis County340
Stone County193
Union County983
Van Buren County272
Washington County2,683
White County1,104
Woodruff County129
Yell County441

Source: Arkansas Department of Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention



STATE TREND

Maintaining


61%

2019
1% = 760
Children 3 to 4 Years

What does this measure?

The number of publicly funded, high-quality, licensed seats for children ages 3 or 4, expressed as a percentage of the number of children ages 3 or 4. High-quality is defined as a seat with a 3-star rating from Arkansas' Better Beginnings program, at a Head Start center, or funded by the Arkansas Better Chance (ABC) program.

Why is this important?

Children placed in high-quality care settings are safer and more secure while their parents are at work. They also develop important social and academic skills and are more likely to be ready to start kindergarten. Despite its importance, high-quality child care is often expensive and out of reach for low-income families. Publicly funded programs help low-income families afford child care. The greater the share of children that receive high-quality early child care, whether in centers or at home, the stronger their chances for strong academic outcomes in the future.

How is Arkansas doing?

In 2019, there were enough high-quality, publicly funded seats to serve 61% of Arkansas' preschoolers, the same as in 2018, though the number of quality seats available fell by 188 seats statewide. Rates varied by county across the state. Grant and Miller counties had the lowest rates of quality seats per preschooler (17% and 25% respectively). In contrast, 10 counties had more quality seat capacity than children in that age group (Bradley, Chicot, Dallas, Desha, Hot Spring, Lafayette, Lawrence, Mississippi, Monroe, and Scott), with quality seat rates ranging from 103% for Mississippi and Lawrence counties to 256% for Dallas County. This may be due to sites in these counties serving children from other counties, or having a licensed capacity (due to the physical size of the facility) that is much larger than the actual number of seats offered.

Notes about the data

The number of licensed seats reported is a point in time count. This represents the number of seats a facility is licensed for (based on its physical size), not the number of seats a facility offers (which may be a smaller number). The data reported is as of the spring of its given year.

Given that current population estimates are not available past 2017, the number of children for more recent years is projected based on 1991-2017 population estimates by age provided by the Centers for Disease Control.




Source: Arkansas Department of Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


Access to Quality Seats
20182019
Arkansas61%61%

Source: Arkansas Department of Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Notes: Quality seats per child aged 3 or 4




Number of Quality Seats
20182019
Arkansas46,36546,177

Source: Arkansas Department of Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention










INDICATORS TREND | STATE
Access to Quality Seats for Infants and Toddlers Not Applicable
Access to Quality Childcare Seats for Preschoolers Not Applicable
Grade 3 Reading Not Applicable
Grade 8 Math Not Applicable
Graduation Rate Not Applicable
Remediation Rate Not Applicable
Adults with a High School Degree Not Applicable
Adults with a Bachelor's Degree or Higher Not Applicable
Adults Pursuing Further Education Not Applicable
Infant Mortality Not Applicable
Early Prenatal Care Not Applicable
Overweight or Obese Students Not Applicable
Student Drug Usage Not Applicable
Overweight or Obese Adults Not Applicable
Physically Inactive Adults Not Applicable
Smoking Rate Not Applicable
Flouridated Water Not Applicable
Insurance Coverage Rates Not Applicable
Oral Health Not Applicable
Life Expectancy Not Applicable
Routine Check-ups Not Applicable
Births to Teens Not Applicable
Female-headed Households Not Applicable
Children Living in Poverty Not Applicable
People Living in Poverty Not Applicable
Elderly Living in Poverty Not Applicable
Median Household Income Not Applicable
Unemployment Rate Not Applicable
Homeownership Rate Not Applicable
Child Abuse and Neglect Not Applicable
Access to Financial Services Not Applicable
Food Insecurity Not Applicable
Incarceration Rate Not Applicable
Homelessness Not Applicable
Change in Total Jobs Not Applicable
Housing Affordability - Owning Not Applicable
Housing Affordability - Renting Not Applicable
Households Below ALICE Threshold Not Applicable
Voter Participation Rate Not Applicable
Charitable Giving Not Applicable
Volunteering Not Applicable
Group Participation Not Applicable
Connection to Neighbors Not Applicable
Local Voting Not Applicable
Change in Population Not Applicable
Change in Population by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Change in Population by Age Not Applicable
Adults with a High School Degree Not Applicable
Adults with a Bachelor's Degree or Higher Not Applicable
Female-headed Households Not Applicable
Children Living in Poverty Not Applicable
People Living in Poverty Not Applicable
Elderly Living in Poverty Not Applicable
Median Household Income Not Applicable
Unemployment Rate Not Applicable
Homeownership Rate Not Applicable
Incarceration Rate Not Applicable
Change in Population by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable


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