Anna Thomas, senior policy analyst for Voices for Utah Children, presented to a group full of women and a handful of men. 

The childcare system in Utah, Thomas said during her Oct. 8 presentation at the Hilton Garden Inn, is in need of definite revamping because it affects everyone—families, employers and childcare professionals alike.

“Most families struggle, and when I say most, I mean everybody except most wealthy people,” Thomas said to the audience. “You can be pulling down two really good salaries [and] if you're putting $2,500 out the door for two kids in daycare, that hurts. It still really, really hurts.”

The Center for American Progress reported that 77% of people in Utah live in a child care desert, which was defined as “any census tract with more than 50 children under age 5 that contains either no child care providers or so few options that there are more than three times as many children as licensed child care slots.” 

Thomas defined the problem by breaking it down into eight steps, namely:

1. Both parents work, either out of necessity or by choice
2. Children require care during working hours
3. What women used to be able to do for free, now requires compensation
4. Most families struggle to afford childcare
5. Providers try to keep costs down for families
6. Providers struggle to pay their own bills
7. People leave the childcare field, and few people become providers
8. Parents do their best to find whatever works

Thomas noted, the problem lies in the fact that there isn’t enough quality and affordable childcare available in the state. 

In more business-oriented terms, she deemed the childcare system in Utah a “market failure,” where the free market cannot produce the necessary amount of childcare services. 

“For every three kids potentially needing childcare in Utah,” Thomas said, “there is one licensed spot.”

With few spots available, the average cost of childcare ranges from $200 to $1,600 monthly per child with 25% of families paying more than $1,500.

Most childcare providers can’t keep up with the expenses of maintaining a well-run facility and quality childcare while keeping costs low for families—leading most providers to lower their prices and close their doors, continuing the cycle of the scarcity of childcare.

Thomas said the lack of childcare is taking women out of the workforce, which is also a correlation that CAP found in 2024. Thomas added that it also is widening the pay gap and hurting children during the most formative years of their lives.

Possible solutions to alleviate the crisis presented by Thomas include flexible work policies such as hours and location, financial support from employers and the state, and employer-provided childcare benefits.

“When we help parents, we do help kids,” Thomas said. “It's one of the few ways that we can help kids directly as community members, is by supporting their parents.”