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Background: As federal covid-era funding was running out for childcare providers, Park City Municipal and Summit County Council stepped up to help local childcare providers and young families that live and/or work in the area. Park City invested $1 million and set up the scholarship program in partnership with Upwards. Summit County committed $183,000 and joined the Upwards program with Park City. Since then, money has been flowing out to local childcare providers, lowering families’ monthly bills.
Park City Community Foundation’s Early Childhood Alliance paid the administration fees to Upwards so that all local government funding went directly to families and providers.
Update as of September 20, 2024
Upshot: There is still funding available for families living or working in Park City to join the scholarship program. Summit County is currently on a waitlist. Overall, we still encourage families to answer the first four questions on Upwards’ site if they think they will be eligible for a scholarship.
Park City program:
For parents/guardians with children who are not old enough for kindergarten and who earn less than 100% of the area median income who live or work in Park City (zip code 84060), there is still funding available for childcare scholarships. Apply here.
According to a City Council Staff Report, “As of September 13, 2024, 27 participating childcare providers were awarded Park City scholarships to 80 households, with 92 children enrolled! Scholarships are awarded to 42 Park City residents, 38 Park City workforce, 1 Park City resident and workforce, and 11 PCMC employee children.” There are a total of 27 participating providers and the program has successfully increased DWS enrollment.
Summit County program:
For similar parents/guardians who live or work in Summit County, but outside the Park City limits, enrollments for the Summit County scholarship program are on a first-come, first-served basis, and are currently at capacity. Interested parents/guardians should get on the Upwards waitlist by answering the first four questions of the application, found here, in case any additional funding becomes available. No documentation is required to be placed on the wait list, applicants need only identify whether they live or work in Summit County, the age of their child(ren), their income level, and, if know, their childcare provider.
There are currently 34 children enrolled in this program. According to a Summit County staff report, “The program has been wildly successful. Summit County exhausted all its funds within the first months of the program, which was in the summer before the school year started. In fact, the County Manager authorized another $53,850 from unused funds in the county’s employee childcare benefit budget to cover enrolled children through the end of the year. Without these additional monies, currently enrolled children would lose their scholarships at the beginning of November 2024. Due to the response, Upwards has communicated to families that Summit County’s scholarships, which are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis are fully committed and they have started putting families on a waiting list in case the county allocates additional monies for the program in 2025.”
Learn more about the various scholarships available, documentation requirements, and answers to frequently asked questions here.
Call to Action
Email City (Council_mail@parkcity.org) and County Council (countycouncil@