Childcare Stabilization Grant Tapering Will Be Severe

With the ARPA stabilization grants ending in September of 2023, the state of Utah has said that it would invest some of its ARPA discretionary funds as a means to taper these stabilization payments to offset the fiscal cliff. The Office of Child Care Advisory Committee is meeting today from 1 to 3 to discuss two options for tapering.

The same amount of funding is available under either option, the choice is only whether the tapering should begin in July or wait until the stabilization grant deadline in September.

Either option will result in a significant reduction in payments. Using the high end of Option 1 (25% for 6 months and 15% for 3 months), for example, would result in the following estimated stabilization payments to childcare providers in Summit County:

The state as a whole will see a similar decline. In calendar year 2022, covid funding (ARPA and CRRSA) invested nearly $190 million in Utah’s early care and education system. 468 providers Salt Lake County, for example, received a total of $90,693,213.

You can review the full slide deck of the Office of Childcare Advisory Committee meeting here.

We do not have the luxury of time to invest in and stabilize our early care and education system. Learn more about the Early Childhood Alliance’s request for public funding to Park City municipal here.