Education
Access to Quality Slots for Infants and Toddlers
Source: Arkansas Department of Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Access to Quality Slots
2023
Arkansas County9%
Ashley County0%
Baxter County19%
Benton County4%
Boone County0%
Bradley County0%
Calhoun County19%
Carroll County7%
Chicot County31%
Clark County0%
Clay County49%
Cleburne County10%
Cleveland County30%
Columbia County15%
Conway County10%
Craighead County8%
Crawford County11%
Crittenden County1%
Cross County4%
Dallas County16%
Desha County20%
Drew County24%
Faulkner County4%
Franklin County0%
Fulton County18%
Garland County42%
Grant County0%
Greene County3%
Hempstead County10%
Hot Spring County11%
Howard County0%
Independence County27%
Izard County22%
Jackson County18%
Jefferson County5%
Johnson County13%
Lafayette County0%
Lawrence County18%
Lee County0%
Lincoln County9%
Little River County0%
Logan County15%
Lonoke County3%
Madison County0%
Marion County0%
Miller County0%
Mississippi County58%
Monroe County30%
Montgomery County8%
Nevada County25%
Newton County0%
Ouachita County8%
Perry County4%
Phillips County12%
Pike County7%
Poinsett County22%
Polk County12%
Pope County7%
Prairie County0%
Pulaski County4%
Randolph County39%
Saline County8%
Scott County41%
Searcy County52%
Sebastian County5%
Sevier County2%
Sharp County13%
St. Francis County8%
Stone County12%
Union County16%
Van Buren County35%
Washington County7%
White County9%
Woodruff County77%
Yell County21%

Source: Arkansas Department of Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Notes: Quality slots per child age 2 and under




Number of Quality Slots
2023
Arkansas County40
Ashley County0
Baxter County154
Benton County324
Boone County0
Bradley County0
Calhoun County17
Carroll County52
Chicot County60
Clark County0
Clay County160
Cleburne County46
Cleveland County51
Columbia County78
Conway County53
Craighead County268
Crawford County148
Crittenden County12
Cross County16
Dallas County20
Desha County54
Drew County110
Faulkner County125
Franklin County0
Fulton County48
Garland County918
Grant County0
Greene County36
Hempstead County56
Hot Spring County72
Howard County0
Independence County258
Izard County52
Jackson County74
Jefferson County67
Johnson County88
Lafayette County0
Lawrence County64
Lee County0
Lincoln County20
Little River County0
Logan County79
Lonoke County62
Madison County0
Marion County0
Miller County0
Mississippi County656
Monroe County42
Montgomery County16
Nevada County47
Newton County0
Ouachita County36
Perry County10
Phillips County62
Pike County16
Poinsett County140
Polk County58
Pope County112
Prairie County0
Pulaski County385
Randolph County172
Saline County231
Scott County93
Searcy County84
Sebastian County177
Sevier County12
Sharp County49
St. Francis County48
Stone County30
Union County170
Van Buren County104
Washington County408
White County150
Woodruff County102
Yell County116

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



STATE TREND

Not Available


10%

2023
1% = 729
Children 3 to 24 Months
See here for full explanation

What does this measure?

The number of publicly funded, high-quality, licensed slots in child care settings for children ages 3 months to two years, expressed as a percentage of the number of children ages 0 to 2. High-quality is defined as a slot 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 2023, there were enough high-quality publicly funded slots to serve 10% of Arkansas' infants and toddlers. The availability of these slots varied widely by county. There were 15 counties that had no publicly funded quality slots for children in this age group (Ashley, Boone, Bradley, Clark, Franklin, Grant, Howard, Lafayette, Lee, Little River, Madison, Marion, Miller, Newton, and Prairie). At the other end of the spectrum, Woodruff County had enough quality slots to serve 77% of children in this age group.

Notes about the data

The number of licensed slots reported is a point in time count. This represents the number of slots a facility is licensed for (based on its physical size), not the number of slots 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 2020, the number of children for more recent years is projected based on 1990-2020 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 Slots
2023
Arkansas10%

Source: Arkansas Department of Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Notes: Quality slots per child age 2 and under










INDICATORS TREND | STATE
Education: Access to Quality Slots for Infants and Toddlers Not Applicable
Education: Access to Quality Child Care Slots for Preschoolers Not Applicable
Education: Grade 3 Reading Decreasing
Education: Grade 8 Math Maintaining
Education: Graduation Rate Increasing
Education: Remediation Rate Maintaining
Education: Adults with a High School Degree Increasing
Education: Adults with a Bachelor's Degree or Higher Increasing
Education: Adults Pursuing Further Education Decreasing
Education: Imagination Libraries Increasing
Health: Low Birth Weight Babies Not Applicable
Health: Early Prenatal Care Increasing
Health: Overweight or Obese Students Increasing
Health: Overweight or Obese Adults Increasing
Health: Physically Inactive Adults Maintaining
Health: Smoking Rate Decreasing
Health: Insurance Coverage Rates Increasing
Health: Oral Health Increasing
Health: Life Expectancy Decreasing
Health: Routine Check-ups Increasing
Health: Overdose Deaths Increasing
Families: Teen Births Decreasing
Families: Children Living in Poverty Maintaining
Families: People Living in Poverty Maintaining
Families: Elderly Living in Poverty Maintaining
Families: Median Household Income Maintaining
Families: Unemployment Rate Decreasing
Families: Homeownership Rate Decreasing
Families: Child Abuse and Neglect Decreasing
Families: Access to Financial Services Decreasing
Families: Food Insecurity Decreasing
Families: Food Deserts Not Applicable
Families: Homelessness Decreasing
Families: Change in Total Jobs Increasing
Families: Cost of Homeownership Maintaining
Families: Households Below ALICE Threshold Not Applicable
Families: Overall Housing Cost Burden Decreasing
Families: Child Care Costs for Toddlers Not Applicable
Families: Medical Debt Not Applicable
Families: Households Receiving SNAP Decreasing
Families: Incarceration Rate Increasing
Community: Voter Participation Rate Decreasing
Community: Charitable Giving Increasing
Community: Volunteering Increasing
Community: Group Participation Increasing
Community: Connection to Neighbors Decreasing
Community: Local Voting Not Applicable
Demographics: Change in Population Increasing
Demographics: Change in Population by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Demographics: Change in Population by Age Not Applicable
Racial Equity: Remediation Rate Maintaining
Racial Equity: Adults with a High School Degree Increasing
Racial Equity: Adults with a Bachelor's Degree or Higher Increasing
Racial Equity: Adults Pursuing Further Education Decreasing
Racial Equity: Low Birth Weight Babies Not Applicable
Racial Equity: Early Prenatal Care Increasing
Racial Equity: Overweight or Obese Students Increasing
Racial Equity: Overweight or Obese Adults Increasing
Racial Equity: Physically Inactive Adults Maintaining
Racial Equity: Smoking Rate Decreasing
Racial Equity: Insurance Coverage Rates Increasing
Racial Equity: Oral Health Increasing
Racial Equity: Life Expectancy Decreasing
Racial Equity: Routine Check-ups Increasing
Racial Equity: Teen Births Decreasing
Racial Equity: Children Living in Poverty Maintaining
Racial Equity: People Living in Poverty Maintaining
Racial Equity: Elderly Living in Poverty Maintaining
Racial Equity: Median Household Income Maintaining
Racial Equity: Unemployment Rate Decreasing
Racial Equity: Homeownership Rate Decreasing
Racial Equity: Child Abuse and Neglect Decreasing
Racial Equity: Access to Financial Services Decreasing
Racial Equity: Food Insecurity Decreasing
Racial Equity: Homelessness Decreasing
Racial Equity: Cost of Homeownership Maintaining
Racial Equity: Medical Debt Not Applicable
Racial Equity: Households Receiving SNAP Decreasing
Racial Equity: Incarceration Rate Increasing
Racial Equity: Change in Population by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable








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