child care

News

Del. McClure’s childcare assistance bill is signed, but funding questions persist

By Emily Leayman
Gov. Abigail Spanberger signs bills to create the Employee Child Care Assistance Program (via Office of Gov. Abigail Spanberger)

Legislation addressing the high cost of childcare in Virginia has received Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s signature — but it’s still unclear how much funding it will entail.

The governor held a ceremonial signing at a Richmond daycare yesterday (Wednesday) for Del. Adele McClure’s HB 18 and the Senate version (SB 3) by state Sen. Lashrecse Aird (D-13). The pair of bills will create an Employee Child Care Assistance Program with matching funds to incentivize employers to provide contributions for their employees’ childcare costs.

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News

Candidates discuss high costs of child care and preschool in Falls Church

By Scott McCaffrey
Marybeth Connelly speaks as other candidates look on at the Falls Church Chamber of Commerce candidate forum (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

A recent forum quizzed Falls Church City Council candidates on what local governments can do to blunt ever-increasing costs of child care and preschool services in Northern Virginia.

It was, one incumbent noted, the first time the issue had been raised during a candidate forum in her memory.

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News

Arlington is the most expensive county in the nation for child care, report finds

By Katie Taranto
Children at a daycare (via BBC Creative/Unsplash)

Arlington County is the most expensive place in the United States for child care, according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal.

It costs about $147,000 to foot the bill for five years of day care in Arlington — more than triple the country’s median cost of $44,000, according to the WSJ. The report highlights an everyday economic struggle for many Arlington households, local leaders say.

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Around Town

Tierra Encantada bilingual daycare aims for May opening in Va. Square

By Katie Taranto
Tierra Encantada's new spot at 3804 Wilson Blvd (staff photo by Katie Taranto)

A Spanish immersion daycare center hopes to open this May in Virginia Square.

Tierra Encantada is preparing to open at 3804 Wilson Blvd, where Staples closed last February. It has a tentative opening date of May 19, Alexandria program director Angel Ricardez told ARLnow.

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News

County leaders seek more early-childhood support from Richmond

By Scott McCaffrey
Early-childhood education (via Picsea/Unsplash)

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.

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News

County Board approves the return of Kinhaven School to original home in Ballston

By James Jarvis
Central United Methodist Church and Unity Homes building in Ballston as it prepared to open in 2024 (staff photo by Savannah Taffe)

Kinhaven School is set to return to its original home on Fairfax Drive following the Arlington County Board’s approval of a childcare center permit.

Formerly housed within Central United Methodist Church in Ballston, Kinhaven moved in 2017 to St. George’s Episcopal Church at 915 N. Oakland Street in Ashton Heights after its original site was redeveloped into a 144-unit affordable housing complex. That complex, at 4201 Fairfax Drive in Ballston, officially opened earlier this year and includes a new space for the church and room for a childcare center.

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News

Some Green Valley residents concerned about proposed childcare center at new church

By James Jarvis
Saint Timothy and Saint Athanasius Coptic Orthodox Church in Green Valley (staff photo by James Jarvis)

The Arlington County Board is considering a proposal for a childcare center on the third floor of the newly constructed Saint Timothy and Saint Athanasius Coptic Orthodox Church (STSA) in Green Valley.

However, the proposal, introduced by the Armed Services YMCA (ASYMCA) in April, has raised concerns among nearby residents worried that the childcare center’s size and rooftop playground will create traffic and noise issues.

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News

Local childcare shortage shows signs of abating but Arlington still faces a chronic lack of subsidized slots

By Jo DeVoe
Children at a daycare (via BBC Creative/Unsplash)

An uptick in childcare centers in Arlington has made a dent in the local care shortage, according to new county data.

Since 2017, the number of childcare center slots increased by 47%, or 1,690 slots. That may be good news for tackling low availability in Arlington — which stands out among Northern Virginia neighbors for how few slots it has — but one shortage remains.

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Around Town

Staples in Virginia Square set to close next month, making way for Spanish immersion preschool

By Jo DeVoe
A sign announcing the closure of the Staples in Virginia Square (staff photo)

The Staples store in Virginia Square is closing next month.

A sign posted on the entrance to the office supply store at 3804 Wilson Blvd says the location is closing on Feb. 23.

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News

Goodwill redevelopment plans receive largely positive feedback, mixed with some concerns

By Jo DeVoe
A rendering of the proposed Goodwill redevelopment (via Arlington County)

Plans to redevelop the Goodwill near Route 50 — with affordable housing, childcare and a new store and donation center — have received a relatively warm reception, per a recent survey.

Goodwill and AHC Inc. propose to replace the existing Goodwill Retail and Donation Center in the Alcova Heights neighborhood with a 6-story apartment building with 128 units of affordable housing, a new store and donation center and a 3,300-square-foot childcare facility.

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News

New apartments, church and daycare to open next year in Ballston

By Jo DeVoe
Construction at Ballston Station project, October 2023 (staff photo by James Jarvis)

A new development with affordable apartments, a church and childcare, across from the Ballston Metro station, is set to debut early next year.

Nearly two years ago, Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing broke ground on the long-delayed, $84 million project to replace the old Central United Methodist Church building at 4201 Fairfax Drive with an 8-story building with 144 committed affordable units.

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News

Spanish immersion preschool and daycare could take over Staples near Ballston

By Jo DeVoe
Staples at 3804 Wilson Blvd (via Arlington County)

A Staples in Virginia Square could become a Spanish immersion daycare and preschool for more than 100 children.

The proposed change in use for the 62-year-old, one-story commercial building has area residents and civic associations on edge about hours, traffic and noise.

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