In 2023, the Utah Legislature decided to fund a Childcare Solutions and Workplace Productivity plan to provide recommendations to expand access to safe, affordable, quality childcare to better meet the needs of Utah families. That report builds on a decade of childcare studies and now the Utah legislature now must decide which of the 33 recommendations it requested it will enact. We know we have a problem, we now have to decide how best to tackle it.
Here are some of the most salient points in the report and the recommendations that Utah should enact first to address its childcare needs, particularly as it relates to early care and education:
The need is extensive: 
- Over two thirds (68.8%) of Utah mothers with children under six-years-old work.
- Utah has more than 167,000 children under age 6 and another 260,000 school-aged children (ages 6-13) where all parents are working, but there are only 103,915 combined licensed and license-exempt slots to serve them, meaning licensed/licensed exempt care meets about one quarter of the need (24.3%), and this likely understates the supply gap for children under age 6.
- Utah’s childcare workforce faces extreme difficulties recruiting and retaining employees due to low wages (around $30,390 annual salary) and lack of benefits.
- Utah’s childcare subsidy program provides assistance to approximately 14% of children who meet the eligibility criteria and pays a subsidy rate that is below the federally-recommended subsidy rate of 75th percentile of the most-recent market rate survey.
Childcare impacts the economy:
Utah’s childcare scarcity impacts our local employers, with as much as a $1.36 billion loss annually to Utah’s economy causing the state to lose $258 million annually. Childcare challenges also contribute to Utah’s growing workforce gap of 66,329.
Where do we go from here?
To help ensure access to childcare for working families, Utah should maximize the investment of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds to support childcare.
Each year, Utah receives TANF allocations from the federal government and has great flexibility in how these funds are spent, so long as they are used in any manner reasonably calculated to accomplish one or more of the TANF purposes. TANF provides a significant amount of funding that could support families — without tax hikes. Utah likely has millions in TANF funds that it’s not investing in childcare, all while families and childcare providers struggle.
In addition to federal funds, the report recommends that Utah supplement childcare funding with state funds. The Office of Childcare Advisory Committee has similarly requested that Utah invest significant additional state funds to make childcare more affordable for families while simultaneously supporting childcare providers. The report also recommends doubling funding for onsite high-quality preschool classrooms.
As our state elected leaders and executive staff review the report and its recommendations, it should prioritize those recommendations that will have the greatest impact, and not simply allow this report to chronicle the dire needs of Utah families. We must take action now to implement the recommendations made in this report, starting with significant additional investments in this critical industry. Utahn families, providers, and our economy cannot afford inaction at this point.
Read the full report here: Utah Childcare Solutions and Workplace Productivity Plan 
A helpful infographic/one pager that helps summarize the report can be found here.