- Salt Lake County Council voted 5-4 in favor of cutting funding for parks and recreation child care.
- The decision followed a study showing centers aren't financially self-sustaining.
- Families were notified to find alternative child care before the program ends Dec. 31.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Salt Lake County Council voted in favor of eliminating funding for the parks and recreation child care program on Tuesday.
The decision comes after the county commissioned the Pathway Group, a consulting firm, to conduct a study earlier this year examining the financial viability of licensed child care at four county-run centers.
The report presented during the meeting found that while centers provide adequate preschool and after-school care, they are not financially self-sustaining.
The decision was made as part of the county's annual budget process.
The parks and recreation department's child care program serves 271 families during the school year and around 300 families during the summer, Robin Chalhoub, director of community services, noted.
Liz, a Salt Lake County resident, said the move may have her scrambling to find future child care.
"I would just love to be able to discuss this with people who have made these decisions," she said.
Liz said she's enjoyed using the child care program and appreciated its affordability.
The Pathway Group's report found that the program faces a $2 million subsidy and is significantly underpriced compared to other local day care centers.
The report also found that programs at county-run centers are also underutilized, operating at just 50% capacity.
Chalhoub said the programs began to see a decline in the number of families using them after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The child care programs are licensed by the state of Utah and reviewed annually by child care licensing inspectors, according to the county's website.
The programs provide care and activities for children through preschool, before- and after-school programs, and summer day camps.
The four centers offering the programs set to be impacted include the Kearns Recreation Center, the Magna Recreation Center, the Millcreek Activity Center and the Northwest Activity Center.
The analysis suggested that the county consider a 20% annual fee increase over a period of five years to be imposed on residents who use the service, to help reach market rates for child care.
However, the council instead decided to nix the child care program from the county facilities. Its members voted 5-4 to cut the program.
Councilmember Laurie Stringham said that she and Councilwoman Aimee Winder Newton have been working toward closing the day care centers for several years. She also noted that the state operates a special program for child care.
"And that is probably the most appropriate place for it to come from. It is not a county-provided item that we should be taking on," she said.
That program is provided by the Department of Workforce Services, and rates are based on a family's income.
Newton said providing day care for hundreds of families is not a role of county government.
"Government cannot and should not be all things to all people; this is not equitable public funding," she said in a statement on her Facebook page on Wednesday morning. "We don't know if these families were low income as there were no low income requirements. The state already has a child care subsidy for low and middle income families. We are not best suited to be day care providers."
Utah Sen. Luz Escamilla expressed her disappointment Wednesday afternoon regarding the County Council's recommendation to close the four day care centers.
"Hundreds of families were blindsided by this decision, and once again, working parents, especially those already struggling to make ends meet, are being disproportionately impacted by choices that threaten their livelihoods," she said in a statement.
The County Council was expected to make its final decision on the matter at its meeting on Dec. 9, but since the program would end a few weeks later on Dec. 31, the council wanted to alert families in advance so they could begin making arrangements for child care at the start of the new year.
"We recognize that this news creates a significant challenge for your family," a letter from the parks and recreation department emailed to families, which was sent to KSL, reads. "Our immediate priority is to support you in finding alternative, high-quality child care. To assist you, we are compiling a list of local licensed child care providers and other community resources."
Councilwoman Suzanne Harrison proposed a substitute motion to extend the program through March 2026 and use that time for the county to see if nonprofits or other childcare providers could take over offering similar services for working families. That motion failed.
Councilwoman Natalie Pinkney, who opposed the child care funding cuts, acknowledged the hundreds of families who could be affected by the council's decision.
"I just want to apologize to all the families who are going to have this program cut," she said.
Escamilla added that with federal funding for food going away in a matter of days, families may already be feeling the stress of keeping food on the table — and cutting county-funded day care programs will only add to the pressure.
"I have already heard from many constituents who depend on these services. Access to high-quality quality affordable child care has been one of my top legislative priorities for years, and I am actively working to find creative solutions to help these families," the statement reads.
