- Utah's SB214 proposes increasing children in unlicensed child care from eight to 10.
- The bill, sponsored by Sen. Luz Escamilla, aims to expand rural child care options.
- Concerns include lack of oversight and high child-to-provider ratios compared to neighbors.
Salt Lake City — A bill that would increase the number of children unlicensed child care providers can have in their care has made it to the House for final review.
The bill, SB214, also known as Home-based Childcare Solutions, sponsored by Sen. Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, aims to expand child care options for families, particularly in rural communities. The bill is a private-public partnership and comes with a $2.3 million price tag.
The bill would offer a grant of up to $5,000 for registered child care providers who qualify. Registered providers would be required to be fingerprinted, have a background check and be CPR certified. It will also increase the number of children an unlicensed provider can care for from eight to 10; however, registration is not required for providers who have fewer than four children in their care.
"This bill is a very simple bill as part of our solutions to a very complex issue, which is our child care situation in our state," Escamilla said at a Feb. 24 committee meeting. "This bill is focusing on home-based ... where moms are taking care of their own children and they are looking for extra income and decide to open their loving homes to other children. ... This becomes a business model which we love here in the state of Utah."
Proponents of the bill say it is a way to allow more parents the chance to stay home with their children, adding that rural areas —deemed "child care deserts" — are in need of more in-home child care options. Many have expressed the need for more background checks, which this bill aims to solve.
Concerns were also brought up regarding the increased number of children and the lack of oversight for providers, who may be registered but are not required to be licensed.
"The sponsor of the bill said that (the increase in number of children) would put Utah in line with our neighborhood states, and that's not the case," said Brigham City child care provider Janie McBee.
McBee, who is also a board member of the Professional Family Childcare Association of Utah, said compared to neighboring states, Utah has the highest ratios.
"We pulled research, and from what we can see, it looks like they're comparing licensed to unlicensed," McBee said. "Looking at our neighboring states, almost all of them are at a 1-to-4 ratio. Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada are 1-to-4. Idaho is 1-to-6, and Wyoming is 1-to-2. ... If we made it up to 10, we'd be the second highest in the nation for unlicensed child care.
"I would love to have unlicensed providers be required to have CPR certifications, but not at the cost of doing 1- to-10 ratios. I don't think that's what Utah wants to be second in the nation for, because I do not think that's the best for kids. The spoken number that is talked about for (an increase in) child abuse is 1-to-6," she said.
McBee said even with the requirement to have background checks for registered providers, she is concerned about the oversight, noting that being registered isn't the same as holding a license.
"Requiring background checks, CPR and first aid certifications is just the bare minimum," McBee said. "As a licensed provider with the state, I have two annual inspections, one announced and one unannounced. Inspectors are checking for choking and entrapment hazards. ... There's requirements regarding food standards, diaper changes —all for the health, safety and benefit for the children.
"Being registered does not require those annual checkups, and it falls on the parents to report unsafe child care providers."
SB214 has passed the Senate and will be reviewed by the House Rules Committee due to its price tag.
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Arianne Brown
