Voices for Utah Children Articles
-
Update: Good News! Thanks to the many collective efforts and hard work, the Protect Utah Workers Coalition was able to collect over 320,000 signatures! The signatures are currently being verified. You can track the progress here. You should definitely...
- Type: Article
- Author: Anna Thomas
- Category: Updates & Blog
-
Was this year's legislative session good for kids? We answer this and more in our 2025 Legislative Recap! In this latest brief, we break down what happened during the legislative session, what we accomplished alongside our partners, and why staying...
- Type: Article
- Author: Anna Thomas
- Category: Updates & Blog
-
Racist Rhetoric Won’t Fix Utah’s Child Care Crisis
Voices Official Statement Condemning Rep. Nicholeen Peck’s Racist Remarks On March 6, 2025 during the House debate on SB 189, Rep. Nicholeen Peck dismissed Utah’s child care crisis, stating: “People often speak of a child care crisis, and this term is...
- Type: Article
- Author: Voices for Utah Children
- Category: Updates & Blog
-
Rethinking Congress' Budget Proposals
Invest in Communities, Not Deportation The latest budget proposals in Congress threaten to remove essential programs that support our communities while ramping up immigration enforcement. These decisions will have devastating consequences, particularly...
- Type: Article
- Author: Ciriac Alvarez Valle
- Category: Updates & Blog
-
When we cut income taxes, it's property taxes that help cover our schools. Utah’s public schools serve over 670,000 kids in more than 1,000 public schools. For a long time, Utah was praised for its fair school funding system, making sure high-poverty...
- Type: Article
- Author: Taylor Throne, Jenna Williams
- Category: Updates & Blog
-
Voucher and School Privatization FAQs
As part of our Vouchers and School Privatization in Utah Series, we’ve put together a list of frequently asked questions that may help to address key concerns—like why vouchers are so controversial and what’s really at stake. As parents and caregivers,...
- Type: Article
- Author: Anna Thomas and Moana 'Ulu'ave
- Category: Updates & Blog
-
Voices Statement on the House Budget Resolution
The recent House Budget Resolution proposes $880 billion in Medicaid cuts, a move that would destabilize Utah’s healthcare system. These cuts would affect children, seniors, people with disabilities, and working families while straining hospitals and...
- Type: Article
- Author: Thaiss Del Rio
- Category: Updates & Blog
-
How to Strengthen Utah's Child Tax Credit in 2025
In 2023, Utah introduced its own child tax credit (CTC) marking a positive step forward. In 2024, the credit was slightly expanded. However, the credit's limited scope falls short of providing real assistance to families raising young children....
- Type: Article
- Author: Jenna Williams
- Category: Updates & Blog
-
Voices Statement on the American Dream and Promise Act of 2025
Voices for Utah Children strongly supports and urges Congress to pass the Dream and Promise Act of 2025. Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia (D-TX-29) and a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers reintroduced this bill on February 26, 2025, to ensure security and...
- Type: Article
- Author: Liliana Bolaños
- Category: Updates & Blog
-
Most parents send their children to school so that they can learn the basic skills needed to pursue future opportunities in work and community life successfully. However, vouchers actually get in the way of that successful learning. School vouchers...
- Type: Article
- Author: Anna Thomas
- Category: Updates & Blog
-
Preserve Medicaid for Utah Families: Vote NO on SB 257
Senator Brammer's SB 257, Medicaid Accounts Amendments, seeks to introduce a broadly defined "Medicaid shortfall," which could trigger unnecessary budget cuts to essential healthcare services. Even though the existing budget processes already allow the...
- Type: Article
- Author: Thaiss Del Rio
- Category: Updates & Blog
-
How Proposed Federal Medicaid Cuts Could Harm Utah Families
When Cuts Don’t Heal As the 119th Congress begins its new term, proposed cuts to Medicaid are once again a major point of discussion at the federal level. Republicans in Congress are preparing to introduce sweeping budget and policy changes through the...
- Type: Article
- Author: Thaiss Del Rio
- Category: Updates & Blog
-
Support HB 30 The Indian Family Preservation Act
This legislative session, Utah has the opportunity to support Native children and families by passing HB 30, the Indian Family Preservation Act Amendments. This bill would allow tribes to establish foster home standards and oversee child custody cases,...
- Type: Article
- Author: Martín C. Muñoz and Laneta Fitisemanu
- Category: Updates & Blog
-
SB 221: Stand Up for Safe Child Care
Utah lawmakers could do many things to alleviate the child care crisis families are facing. In fact, there are 33 expert-recommended ones right here, thanks to the state’s newest child care solutions study. Endangering kids' safety by lowering...
- Type: Article
- Author: Moana 'Ulu'ave
- Category: Updates & Blog
-
Protecting State CHIP: Vote NO on HB178
37 ORGANIZATIONS, ENTITIES, AND BUSINESSES HAVE SIGNED ON TO PROTECT STATE CHIP The 37 undersigned organizations and entities dedicated to the health and well-being of children and 90 individuals are writing in response to the recently introduced HB178...
- Type: Article
- Author: Ciriac Alvarez Valle
- Category: Updates & Blog
-
Tax Policy 101: State Child Tax Credit
What is the State Child Tax Credit? Utah’s Child Tax Credit (CTC) allows eligible families to claim up to an additional $1,000 per qualifying child each year on their state taxes. Whether a parent stays home or both parents work, this tax credit can...
- Type: Article
- Author: Jenna Williams
- Category: Updates & Blog
-
Another Year, Another Tax Cut: Who Benefits?
Key Takeaways Minimal Savings, Major Loss: Another tax cut in 2025 will remove about $100M from essential services, pushing total cuts to about $1.3B annually—funds that could strengthen schools, childcare, and healthcare. Wealthy Win, Families Lose:...
- Type: Article
- Author: Jenna Williams
- Category: Updates & Blog
-
What Happened With Child Care During the 2025 Legislative Session?
This 2025 session, supporting families with young children remained a top policy priority of Voices for Utah Children. The urgent need to address families' critical child care needs remained at the forefront of our advocacy efforts. This session was...
- Type: Article
- Author: Jenna Williams
- Category: Updates & Blog
-
Utahns Like Their Public Schools, So Who Exactly DOES Want Vouchers?
More than 90% of Utah students attend a public school (neighborhood school or public charter school). About 5% of children in Utah are homeschooled, slightly less than the national average (6%). Only 3% of Utah students attend private school,...
- Type: Article
- Author: Anna Thomas
- Category: Updates & Blog
-
A Timeline of the School Voucher Steamroller in Utah
In this post, we’ll discuss the steady steamrolling of school vouchers into Utah—a state where only 3% of students attend private schools, just 5% are homeschooled, and the vast majority of families report high satisfaction with their local public...
- Type: Article
- Author: Anna Thomas
- Category: Updates & Blog
