- Salt Lake County childcare closures to force nearly 300 families to seek alternate options.
- Jefferson Curtis and Jessica Earl both said they'l face financial strain in new childcare solutions.
- Salt Lake County Council was exploring partnerships to preserve childcare spaces for low-income families.
SALT LAKE CITY — In a matter of days, nearly 300 families who rely on subsidized childcare at four Salt Lake County-operated facilities will have to begin using new options for care.
Some Salt Lake County parents said finding a new place that provides comparable childcare at a price close to what they'd been paying has come with its own set of challenges.
Jefferson Curtis, a father of two sons who were in childcare programs at two locations, said the family has found a new daycare option for them at a higher cost.
"We're paying double the cost to get them full-time care of preschool, but it was the most affordable option we found within a reasonable driving distance," he said.
Curtis said his family was paying roughly $430 per child per month for daycare services through the county — until a fee increase kicked in earlier this year, raising the cost to a little more than $500 per child per month.
While he said they are grateful to find another option, Curtis said they'll now pay a combined total of around $1,650 a month for childcare for both children, which is approximately $19,800 a year.
But that is still slightly below the average cost of childcare in Utah. According to the Policy Project, the annual median cost for two children in a center-based care facility is around $25,288.
The fallout
Last November, the Salt Lake County Council voted to cut the parks and recreation funded program, which operates licensed day care services at the Kearns, Magna, Millcreek Activity and Northwest Activity recreation centers.
The program's final day of operation is next Friday, May 29; however, drop-in child care services are expected to continue at select centers, according to the county's parks and recreation department's website.
Curtis, who's also on the Utah Works for Families leadership team, said his family, as well as others he's spoken with, were left scrambling to find new affordable childcare options.
The timing was especially unfortunate for Curtis as he was in the midst of another search — for work.
"I was laid off at my job, and so the whole time this is going on, I was job searching because you need two incomes right now in this day and age," he said.
Despite that, the family wanted to do everything possible to keep their kids in the program as he looked for work.
"The search was very intense for us that way," Curtis told KSL.
Jessica Earl, another parent who'd been using the program in Millcreek, said their family also navigated the challenge of finding new care for her son. She explored about a dozen daycares and childcare centers, but faced roadblocks because they required children to be potty-trained.
"My son is developmentally behind, so I told them that and they still said sorry," said Earl. "And then there were others — but they were like $1,000 or more a month, which is just not sustainable."
Earl said she eventually found an in-home daycare that would accept her son through a Facebook group.
"It was pretty much a Hail Mary in me posting on Facebook, and people responding," she said.
It'll set the Earl family back an additional $50 from what they were paying through the county's subsidized program, bringing their monthly childcare services to just over $600. While feeling a sense of relief at finding a new option, the increased costs will still put a strain on the family's budget.
"I mean, it's a miracle, but it's also still going to be a little hard — but we'll be able to figure it out," Earl said.
Aside from the financial impact, both Earl and Curtis said they also worry about the transition to a new center and leaving behind friends they've made and teachers they bonded with.
Exploring options
Earlier this year, the Salt Lake County Council said it was "exploring" ways to preserve spaces at the current childcare facilities.
During the County Council's Feb. 24 meeting, members unanimously voted to issue a "legislative intent" to evaluate which of the four centers are viable for lease to potential partners who provide childcare and to prioritize low-income families, according to a county-issued press release.
The council was expected to revisit the matter in a future meeting once options have been vetted.
In the meantime, a selection of summer programs will be offered at recreation centers throughout the county.
The fight continues
Earl is also on the leadership team for Utah Works For Families, a parent-led coalition that continues its fight to advocate for childcare, despite the immediate future of Salt Lake County-operated sites.
"We're all about the children, of course, but you know, this has been our biggest issue that we've been going through," she said.
Curtis said the organization aims to continue raising awareness of the need for affordable childcare and the deep impact it has on families, regardless of their financial situation.
"We need our government and our business leaders to step up and start investing in childcare programs," he said. "Make them affordable, and on top of making them affordable, make it so that the employees who work with these programs have living wages themselves."
