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ADHS announced fees for all licensees this afternoon.

During the comment period, ADHS heard loud and clear from the child care facilities that they wanted the Department to lower the proposed fees. "My administration, especially Interim Director Will Humble at Health Services, has been diligently exploring alternatives to help the people of Arizona," said Governor Jan Brewer. "I am pleased that he and his team have been able to identify creative solutions to replace subsidies that the state can no longer afford to provide."

The Department examined several options to help providers. One solution was to reach out to First Things First which prioritizes the education and well-being of Arizona's Young Children."After the meetings, our team put on our thinking caps, restructured the child care fees, figured out a way to use federal and voter protected funds to offer a substantial discount for most child care facilities, and invented a new public health curriculum for pre-schoolers," said Will Humble, ADHS Interim Director. "As long as facilities participate in our new, easy-to-implement "Empower Pack" public health program for preschoolers, they can receive a significant break on their fees and teach their kids new and valuable life skills to stay healthy."

The Empower Pack pilot program will allow centers to pay 50% of the new fees. The facilities have to incorporate 10 ways to empower children to lead healthy lives. The list addresses everything from providing healthy food and exercise, to limiting "screen" time.

Children would be in a tobacco-free environment and families would receive information and referrals about tobacco prevention, cessation and second-hand smoke. "Child Care Facilities provide a unique opportunity to reach families with really strong public health messaging," said Jeanette Shea-Ramirez, Assistant Director of Public Health Prevention. "Creating healthy habits at an early age will affect their entire lives and impact the health of our state overall."

The pilot program will reduce most child care fees to $3,900 for a three-year license. Facilities with 11-59 children will pay $2,000 and those that watch 5-10 kids will pay $500 if they participate in the pilot program for a three-year license.

All other licensing fees will increase as proposed. The complete information is available at AZDHS.gov. The fees will take effect January 1, 2010.