Hundreds of Utah families set to lose childcare assistance

SALT LAKE CITY — More than 900 families will lose subsidies that help them pay for childcare, under new guidelines released this week.

The Utah Department of Workforce Services is lowering the income eligibility limit to qualify for Utah's childcare assistance program. Starting Oct. 1, families must make 50% or less of the state median income as a new applicant for the program, or 65% or less to continue receiving the subsidy.

Until now, families earning 85% of the state median income could qualify. The state said it's also changing the funding formula for families who need childcare four days a week or less, meaning some of them will receive less money each month.

According to state workforce officials, the move is due to a reduction in federal funding impacting Utah's childcare assistance program to the tune of about $15 million. Heather Thomas, director of the Utah Office of Child Care, said this will return Utah to pre-COVID levels.

"We are estimating that just over 900 families will be impacted," Thomas said. "This is about one in ten of the families that are currently served in the childcare assistance program."

Mallory Adams, Department of Workforce Services public information officer, acknowledged this is a "big cut."

"The important thing to remember is that there are still 90% of families that are on this program that are still going to get assistance," Adams said, "and those are the ones that are most in need."

The state is also limiting the initial registration fees it pays to childcare providers on behalf of families, while cutting off childcare assistance if a parent or guardian loses their job and doesn't find a new one within three months.

'It's already hard'

Michael Evans, a Taylorsville resident who takes his child to a daycare center in Magna, told KSL he and his partner are set to lose their subsidy completely once the changes take effect. He said he already works 50 hours a week but faces the prospect of getting another job to cover the deficit.

"It takes up a good portion of your income to begin with, and I feel like with them trying to make a change like this, it's going to make it almost impossible to live," Evans said. "It's already hard with cost of living and everything else going up in the world."

Azteca Druce Valerio-Bedolla, who lives in West Jordan and has three children, said losing the subsidy may force her to quit her job and rely solely on her husband's income. She said her children love their daycare and feel "safe, supported and loved."

"The thought of having to take that community away from them, not because we want to, but because we simply couldn't afford it anymore, is heartbreaking," Valerio-Bedolla said. "Childcare also allows me to work, contribute to my family and continue being a person outside of motherhood. I am a better mom when motherhood isn't the only thing I'm allowed to be."

Linda Jo Sego, who owns Sunshine Academy, worries the income eligibility changes will have a domino effect within the childcare industry.

"I'm worried about closing," said Sego, noting that most of her clients depend on state funding. "I'm worried that we won't have a daycare because we won't be able to afford it."

Sego said daycare facilities have already been struggling with higher employee costs while losing some clients to Utah's new policies surrounding full-day kindergarten and expanded early childhood education programs for low-income families. She said if more families cannot afford care, they will have to find other options, and some daycares will not have enough kids to stay open.

Christina Robles, owner of Brighter Steps Childcare and founder of the Utah Community Coalition for Childcare, said she wants the state to step up to help fill the gap and keep the subsidies intact. Robles said she met with a representative from Gov. Spencer Cox's office about this on Thursday.

"What I'm hoping and what I'm asking is that the governor's office comes in and says, 'Hey, let's put a pause on this because the ripple effect on our economy and on our children and on our families is going to be so detrimental that we need to figure this out,'" said Robles.

Childcare providers have created a petition, asking Utah leaders to find other funding solutions to protect the state's subsidy program.

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