Watering Utah's child care ‘deserts'

Yahoo

05-02-2025

Child care in Utah is getting a break this year — and it's coming from both sides of the political spectrum.
Republicans have advanced a bill incentivizing employers to offer child care, while Democrats have advanced a bill multiplying the number of child care centers throughout the state.
Whether either or both bills are passed, many statistics say that such a bill is a long time coming.
In 2024, a Bankrate study found that 75% of Utah exists in a child care 'desert,' where there are not enough day cares to serve the population. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also estimated that child care issues create around a $1.36 billion loss for Utahns every year.
Here's a look at the two new bills due for debate in the Utah Legislature. HB389 is sponsored by House Majority Whip Karen Lisonbee, R-Clearfield, while SB189 is headed by Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City.
Together, the two women co-chair the Legislature's Women and the Economy Subcommittee. These bills have been under bipartisan and bicameral discussion for three years and support one another, rather than compete, the sponsors say.
Republican-headed HB389 expands child care access by providing tax credits for corporate and individual employers who provide childc are for their employees.
The legislation, which would take effect Jan. 1, 2026, if approved by both Utah's House and Senate, offers:
A 20% tax credit for employers who contract with outside day cares.
A 50% tax credit for employers who run their own child care.
The higher tax credit for in-house child care reflects the lack of adequate child care facilities already available to most Utahns.
HB389 represents a free-market approach to Utah's child care needs — an industry already struggling in a state where families have historically relied less on child care outside the home, according to 2023 research from Utah State University.
Though the number of Utah moms who work falls below the national average, this is trending to change. Two-thirds of Utah moms with children under age 18 work, but more would if they could find high-quality, affordable child care.
Nevertheless, as the Deseret News previously reported, many Utah employers resist building child care centers out of cost and maintenance concerns.
'I discovered a couple of years ago in Utah that businesses were staying away from the topic — didn't even want to talk about it — because they figured it was all or nothing: 'I'd have to build a child care center.' But there are so many things in between,' said Susan R. Madsen, a professor and child care researcher with the Utah Women & Leadership Project at Utah State University.
HB389 could be one of these in-between options — making it more profitable for businesses to contract with child care centers or build their own.
Lisonbee has discussed her bill with multiple employers already, but said she could not publicly disclose the names of those employers at this time.
Sen. Escamilla's Child Care Capacity Expansion Act wants to address child care shortages with unused state buildings.
The program, which, if passed, would launch on May 7, would:
Retrofit obsolete state-owned buildings as child care facilities, which could then be leased at no cost to qualifying employers.
Cover maintenance and utility costs with state funds.
Require that 40 percent of child care spots be reserved for local community members.
Provide discounts to low-income families.
As the Deseret News previously reported, Escamilla advanced a near-identical bill in last year's legislature session. Her bill came in response to a loss amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars in federal child care funds.
Escamilla's 2024 proposal carried a $5 million price tag and centered on empty offices in six state buildings in Salt Lake County. Gov. Spencer Cox endorsed her proposal by including it in his 2024 budget, per media reports.
The bill successfully passed Republican scrutiny in the Utah Senate before dying in the House with little explanation.
'(That) is the nature of the beast here... So we're back. I mean, I'm a Democrat, so I'm used to coming back,' Escamilla said. '(But) I think it's good policy and it's a good way to invest in infrastructure.'
Escamilla still recognizes a dramatic gap in Utahns' child care needs and resources available to them.
'Utah is facing one of the worst child care crises in the nation, and we need your support,' she shared in a recent post to Instagram.
Other child care-related bills this session include:
HB207 'Sexual Offense Revisions' (Rep. Stephen Whyte, R-Mapleton): This bill expands the definition of sexual exploitation of children and strengthens sentences against offenders.
HB365 'Mental Health Care Study Amendments' (Rep. Stewart Barlow, R-Fruit Heights): This bill requires that the University of Utah conducts a study on barriers preventing children from seeing therapists.
HB413 'Child Custody Proceedings Amendments' (Rep. Mike Kohler, R-Midway): This bill specifies that caseworkers can't take action on child custody situations based on the actions of parents and that courts can't adjust child custody arrangements based on certain actions by their parents.
SB173 'School Meal Amendments' (Sen. Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City): This bill creates a free meals program for all public-school students.
SB221 'Child Care Revisions' (Sen. Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City): This bill requires licensing and certification for child care providers and restricts the number of children that one provider may take care of at a time.