As Arizona faces a shifting funding landscape for early childhood education, state and community leaders are turning to new data to help every dollar go further for young learners and their families.
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The Fiscal Map identifies the range of resources that support school readiness and early literacy programs and services in Arizona.
The newly updated Arizona Early Childhood Fiscal Map, released by Read On Arizona and statewide partners, provides a comprehensive look at how federal and state investments support early care, education, and literacy across Arizona. With data on multiple funding streams from 2019 through 2025, the tool is intended to help policymakers and local leaders better understand, align, and optimize resources to improve outcomes for children.
“Maximizing impact isn’t just about more funding, it’s about using what we have more strategically,” said Lori Masseur, Director of Early Learning for Read On Arizona. “The Fiscal Map is an important tool to help decision makers across sectors identify gaps in services, align resources, reduce duplication, and target investments where they can have the greatest impact.”
By shifting the conversation from agency-based budgets to a child-centered perspective, the Fiscal Map highlights the full range of resources that support school readiness and early literacy programs and services in Arizona. The accompanying summary report underscores the increased need for strategic, coordinated investments among state and local partners, as federal pandemic relief funding, which played a significant role in expanding early childhood services in recent years, has expired.
The report also highlights strong collaboration across Arizona’s early childhood ecosystem, bringing together partners including the Arizona Department of Education, Department of Economic Security, Department of Health Services, First Things First, Head Start leaders, and community organizations. These efforts are focused on coordinating services, strengthening the early childhood workforce, and building a more sustainable system that supports young children and families statewide.
Two new local fiscal maps, focused on early childhood investments in the City of Tempe and Yuma County, are also available.
Marie Raymond, Community Health and Human Services Manager for the City of Tempe and community lead of Read On Tempe, said, “One of the key takeaways is how local funding complements state resources. State funding often brings scale, while city funding provides flexibility and stability within a fluctuating funding landscape.”
To explore the Fiscal Map or to learn more about the collaborative work of Read On Arizona, visit readonarizona.org.
About Read On Arizona
Launched in 2013, Read On Arizona is the state’s early literacy initiative. Partners in Read On Arizona take a collaborative approach to advance the strategies, policies, and investments needed for all Arizona children to learn to read at grade level and be successful in school, with strategic focus on improving school readiness and third grade reading proficiency. Read On Arizona provides leadership at the state level through an advisory board consisting of representatives from its founding partners—Arizona Department of Education, Arizona Community Foundation, First Things First, Helios Education Foundation, and Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust—as well as the Arizona State Board of Education, the Governor’s Office, and several other key literacy stakeholders and philanthropic organizations. Read On Arizona also supports local literacy efforts through a network of Read On Communities. Arizona Literacy Plan 2030 outlines the key drivers, proven strategies, and actions required to improve literacy outcomes for Arizona students. Learn more at ReadOnArizona.org.
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