The County Courthouse this week appeared willing to explore allocating funds to sustain child care and early education programs, but the topic would fall somewhere in line with other countywide issues officials hope to address such as food insecurity amongst low-income residents, an anticipated overhaul of the county’s emergency medical services system and the need to increase the affordable housing stock available to the workforce.
Early Childhood Alliance Director Kristen Schulz met with the Summit County Council on Wednesday to discuss the implications the child care crisis has in the Park City area. The system has been diagnosed as a market failure without enough supply to address the need, and the problem could become exacerbated this fall with federal funding drying up and provider prices increasing.
“There is a cost to doing nothing,” Schulz warned.
A high estimate determined the child care issue could cost Summit County around $32 million annually in economic loss because of the interconnection between the industry and other businesses.
Preschool and daycare centers allow parents who are seeking employment to find work instead of staying at home. However, around 13% of children aged 5 and under in Utah had a family member quit, change, or refuse employment due to barriers in finding child care such as few options or high costs, according to a report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
The consumer price index report from April 2023 showed the cost of early care and education increased by 7% compared to last year. It was the largest annual increase recorded, and the growth outpaces price hikes in gas and food.
The slowdown of federal assistance that helps early childhood education providers will also have a significant impact. Summit County is slated to lose millions from a stabilization grant starting in September, with payments tapering from $1.9 million this year to less than $250,000 in 2024.
This creates a huge fiscal cliff, Schulz said. Many providers used the funding to increase wages and benefits for employees — who still earn less than in 98% of other jobs.
Utah is expected to be one of six states most affected by the end of the funding, with half of the providers expected to close. Child care centers can’t reduce pay unless they risk losing their already limited workforce and wages can’t be increased without causing tuition to also rise, which could price parents out.
Essentially, the problem is two-fold: Providers are struggling to staff their facilities with qualified employees, which reduces the number of children that can be served, and child care expenses outweigh the benefits of working, particularly for parents who earn a low wage.
While the County Council was sympathetic to the challenges, the panel seemed tepid to using taxpayer dollars as a temporary solution without long-term planning.
Schulz may have been hopeful the county would allocate funds after Park City Municipal on June 22 earmarked a $1 million investment to expand child care and early education programs. A working group will meet over the next month to discuss how the city money should be invested, but Summit County officials said they wanted to start that process before making any commitments.
For County Council Chair Roger Armstrong, the problem is a Rubik’s cube he can’t solve. He said the child care issue is heightened right now because the funding bubble is about to disappear. Armstrong spoke about his experience raising his son while studying to become a lawyer as his wife worked
“It’s not a new need, it’s generational … we struggled with the same things,” he said.
Armstrong indicated he sees the child care crisis as a labor issue that requires the area’s top employers to step in by improving benefits. With a large number of problems affecting Summit County, he said it would be hard to choose what receives priority.
If money for child care ultimately comes out of the county’s general fund, residents should expect to see a tax increase. That’s why Armstrong said it’s crucial to engage the business community first.
County Councilor Chris Robinson agreed, expressing concerns about the “proverbial band-aid.” He supported exploring the topic of investing in child care with a group of stakeholders, but said they would be prolonging the inevitable without the right strategy.
Malena Stevens, Tonja Hanson and Canice Harte, also members of the panel, were in favor of taking a sustainable, equitable approach to the issue.
Schulz recognized it will take longer than a year to fix the problem, but she emphasized a need for the community to come together to tackle the issue now instead of waiting for a child to enter the public education system at age 5, when they might have already fallen behind.
County officials said they would consider allocating funds during the budget cycle and planned to keep an eye on what City Hall chooses to do.