Ensuring access to affordable, high-quality daycare and early-childhood education has landed near the top of the Arlington County Board’s 2025 legislative wish list.
The cost of child care in Northern Virginia is “more expensive than college,” Board member Takis Karantonis said at the body’s Tuesday (Dec. 3) work session with members of the county’s delegation to the General Assembly.
That analogy’s accuracy depends on the college involved, but there’s no question families looking for programs supporting children under 5 face limited options and sticker shock.
The average cost of full-time daycare for an infant is about $30,000 in Arlington and the cost for a child age 2 or 3 is about $15,000, according to county officials.
With one of the highest income levels in the nation, some families have no problem footing the bill. But others rely on subsidies and special programs funded primarily by the state and administered through local governments.
There has been progress, but not enough, county leaders said in the roundtable discussion.
“Virginia has made a number of investments that are excellent … but we need additional investments,” said Board member Maureen Coffey.
“As many dollars as you can give are going to be used,” she told legislators, who will join their 135 colleagues in Richmond for a 45-day legislative session opening Jan. 8.
Four of five members of Arlington’s delegation were on hand either in person or remotely: State Sens. Barbara Favola (D-40) and Adam Ebbin (D-39) and Dels. Adele McClure (D-2), and Alfonso Lopez (D-3).
Board Chair Libby Garvey complained that it was “positively Third World” how child-care issues are dealt with in the U.S. Lopez responded that county leaders need to come up with specifics on how much funding they want — and an approach on how to wring it out of the legislature and governor.
With Virginia Democrats holding narrow control of both legislative bodies and Republicans running the executive branch, 2025 is likely to be another year where the two parties will have to compromise.
With a state surplus of several billion dollars to play with, Gov. Glenn Youngkin has telegraphed his desire for tax cuts. Favola predicts “lively” budget discussions during the session.
Democrats are “going to do everything we can” to funnel cash into expanded safety-net programs, including education funding, Favola said.
Northern Virginia Democrats are holding out hope that their party will retain control of the General Assembly after House of Delegates elections next November, and will pick up the governorship that same election.
If that comes to pass, Democrats will hold total control in Richmond for the first time since a narrow window in 2020-21.
“One more year” is what local Democratic leaders need to get through, Garvey said under her breath at one point in the Dec. 3 meeting.
For the decade preceding the 2023 General Assembly elections, Arlington had a seven-member legislative delegation — the county was included in three Senate and four delegate districts.
After redistricting following the 2020 federal census, the county was carved up differently, into two state Senate and three House of Delegates districts.
Arlington is hardly alone among Virginia localities putting together legislative wish lists for the coming General Assembly session. Nearly all local governments in Northern Virginia, and many elsewhere, also do it. Fairfax County supervisors adopted their package Tuesday (Dec. 4), Falls Church council members adopted theirs on Nov. 25.
Arlington officials anticipate approving the county’s package on Dec. 14.
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