The pay at Brooke’s old job as a carhop at Sonic didn’t come close to covering childcare, rent and living expenses. Childcare assistance gave her just the bit of help she needed to move up.* Now she’s on her way to her goal of running her own business.

She left Sonic for a job teaching toddlers at a Fayetteville daycare, which provided her with an employee discount. Still, she needed the childcare vouchers for her six kids, who now range in age from 4 to 14.

“My two [youngest] kiddos got to come here with me, and my other kids got to come here after school, before I was done working,” she said, “and that just helped out tremendously.”

She met Kenneth, whom she married in 2008, through her work. His daughter, Julieanne, is the same age as Brooke’s youngest son, Tiger. With the childcare assistance, Brooke and Kenneth make ends meet and provide for their family, which also includes Sarah, 14; Hannah, 12; Daniel, 9; Jarod, 8; and Haley, 6.

Brooke, 33, went back to school at night to complete a 126-hour early childhood education program through Arkansas State University and earn her Child Development Associate credential. She’s been promoted to assistant director at her job, and hopes to someday open her own daycare business.

“Childcare is a necessity,” she said. “You want good care for your kids, but that does cost. It’s not free, but the voucher system gives us the opportunity to have quality child care.”

*Brooke received child care vouchers funded by CCDBG.

Data sources

• U.S. Census Bureau, “American FactFinder,” 2007 American Community Survey (accessed May 2011). Data came from the following tables: Statewide poverty percentages, GCT1701, Ratio of income to poverty level, C17002
• U.S. Census Bureau, “American FactFinder,” 2009 American Community Survey (accessed May 2011). Data came from the following tables: Statewide poverty percentages, GCT1701, Ratio of income to poverty level, C17002
• Half in Ten analysis of Table 1, 2007 State Expenditure Report, National Association of State Budget Officers.
• Half in Ten analysis of Table 1, 2009 State Expenditure Report, National Association of State Budget Officers.
• U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 2009 through 2010, table C23008