Can't leave work @ 5p!!! ;( Need full time child care, till 6:30, in Gilbert, W.Mesa, Tempe

Have you tried seeing if you get approved for child care assistance through DES?

There is no way to be a perfect mother, but a million ways to be a good one!

I feel for you, I went through this when I first moved down here, I live in East Mesa and worked in Phx, my kids were in daycare 13 hours a day, the first to get in, the last to leave.
My kids went to Kindercare and Children's World (which is now taken over by Kindercare). I hate the daycare system, but had no choice and it is WAY overpriced, but I sucked it up because what little income I had left was better than none (I was also midline income--too much for assistance, too little to actually live off of!!). The daycare facilities are the only places that go til 6:30 as far as I know.

Now my kids do the before and after care for school in both Gilbert & Mesa Schools, but those only go til 6 pm. Luckily, now I work in Tempe and my kids will be going to ASU Sun Devil Camp, which is VERY reasonable, but again, they only go to 6 I believe.

With Phoenix traffic, I don't know why these places, especially the after school programs don't go til 6:30!!

I DID try the list of licensed inhome providers. I went through the whole list and of the ones available, I didn't feel comfortable leaving my kids with them for one reason or another. There were quite a few "full" homes, I'm assuming those were good ones!

I do not live in that part of the valley but I just wanted to send you kudos. I am also a single mother and I feel your pain. It's not easy. For what it's worth I was able to work out with an old employer for me to come in early, skip lunch and leave early. It was better for them because my arriving before anyone else in the office gave me the quiet time I needed to get a ton of stuff done.

Also, look into ASU's Child Development Program. It's affordable and excellent. I believe the hours are 7 am - 6:30 pm.