Voices for Utah Children Articles

  • Child Care for Utah's Future: A Call to Action for Elected Officials

    This open letter was released on January 31, 2024, by Neighborhood House and Voices for Utah Children, two non-profit organizations working together with other community partners to create a better childcare system in Utah for the benefit of all the...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Anna Thomas
    • Category: Updates & Blog

  • Tax Cuts Hurt Kids

    Why Voices Opposes Proposed Income Tax Cuts Over the past four years, Utah's Legislative Leadership has consistently prioritized tax cuts above the needs of Utah's families. Despite a $400 million tax cut passed last year that benefited the most...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Jenna Williams
    • Category: Updates & Blog

  • Take Action on EITC Awareness Day 

    January 26th is Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Awareness Day! The EITC is a vital tool in reducing child poverty, and improving the long-term outcomes for children across our state. Some tax policies - like the EITC - promote fairness and equity....

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Abdikadir Eftin
    • Category: Updates & Blog

  • Our 2024 Legislative Agenda

    At Voices for Utah Children, we always start with this guiding question: "Is it good for all kids?" That remains our north star at the outset of the 2024 legislative session, and is reflected in our top legislative priorities. So, what’s good for all...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Jenna Williams
    • Category: Updates & Blog

  • The Governor’s 2024 Budget: Hits and Misses for Utah Families

    Governor Cox unveiled his budget last week, and the general direction of the budget is positive. Voices for Utah Children is interested in some specific components of the budget that directly impact Utah children and their families: Public Education...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Anna Thomas
    • Category: Updates & Blog

  • Tax Policy 101: Tax Refundability

    Tax policy is complicated. Talking about taxes involves jargon, and concepts that can be confusing. For example, what is a 'refundable' tax credit? What exactly does that mean, and how does it help families? We answer these questions here with a quick...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Jenna Williams
    • Category: Updates & Blog

  • Making Utah Taxes Fair for All Families

    Most of us don't enjoy paying taxes. We do it, though, because pooling our money together through taxes makes it possible for us to have roads, schools, libraries and parks, fire fighters and law enforcement, and so many more public goods that none of...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Taylor Throne
    • Category: Updates & Blog

  • Higher Child Care Costs and More Stress for Families Coming This Fall

    When the pandemic hit, child care was one of the first sectors in crisis. But action in the form of federal aid and swift state program implementation prevented widespread program closures. The nearly $600 million Utah received in federal child care...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Jenna Williams
    • Category: Updates & Blog

  • Utah Children's Budget 2023

    The care for the children in our state and communities can be measured by our public investment in our smallest humans. From the fiscal year 2008 to 2022, Voices for Utah Children divided all state programs concerning children into seven categories,...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Taylor Throne
    • Category: Updates & Blog

  • What Happened with Child Care During the 2023 Legislative Session?

    Child care certainly received its fair share of discussion this legislative session, but did anything really happen? The short answer is kinda. Here’s what happened. Funding Requests During the session, Voices for Utah Children teamed up with parents,...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Jenna Williams
    • Category: Updates & Blog

  • Summary of the Tax Cuts Passed by the 2023 Utah Legislature

    The Legislature finished its 2023 General Session last Friday evening, March 3rd. In the area of tax policy, we've prepared the chart above to summarize the tax cuts passed this year. The tax cuts that will go into effect in the next year add up to...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Matthew Weinstein
    • Category: Updates & Blog

  • Invest in Utah's Future Coalition: $5.6b of unmet needs should be prioritized over tax cuts

    BROAD COALITION CALLS FOR INVESTMENT IN UTAH’S FUTURE RATHER THAN TAX CUTS, DOCUMENTS $5.6 BILLION IN URGENT UNMET NEEDS Salt Lake City – On Monday, January 23, 2023 at the Utah State Capitol, a broad and diverse coalition of advocates for the poor,...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Matthew Weinstein
    • Category: Updates & Blog

  • Comparing the Tax Cuts

    * * SEE COMPLETE ANALYSIS OF THE LEGISLATURE'S $400 MILLION TAX CUT PROPOSAL AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE * * The 2023 Legislature's annual seven-week General Session has begun! At the top of the agenda for the Governor and Legislative leadership: tax...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Matthew Weinstein
    • Category: Updates & Blog

  • The best holiday gift for Utah kids this year: An improved federal Child Tax Credit

    Every December Congress meets to try to pass all the urgent items they didn't manage to get done the rest of the year. Usually the list includes tax policy changes demanded by one well-heeled special interest or another. This year is no different. At...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Matthew Weinstein
    • Category: Updates & Blog

  • Brackeen v. Haaland: The Case Child Welfare Advocates Should Worry About

    On November 9th, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear the Brackeen v. Haaland (21-377) case.[i] The case could determine if the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), enacted by the U. S. Congress in 1978, is constitutional. Since it was enacted, ICWA has...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Martín C. Muñoz
    • Category: Updates & Blog

  • Wait, Still No Optional Full-Day Kindergarten for Your Family?

    Labor Day weekend is in the past, the “heat dome” has cracked, and we are well on our way into the 2022-23 school year. Oh, and the majority of Utah families still have no choice when it comes to their child’s kindergarten program. Ensuring that all...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Anna Thomas
    • Category: Updates & Blog

  • Utah Economic Benchmarking Project 2022: Utah vs Texas

    New Economic Benchmarking Report Finds Utah Ahead of Texas in Most Key Metrics of Economic Opportunity and Standard of Living Salt Lake City, August 31, 2022 - Voices for Utah Children released today the fifth in its series of economic benchmarking...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Taylor Throne
    • Category: Updates & Blog

  • 100% Kids Coverage Storybook

    Families living with health insurance, and without: New storybook highlights why all Utah children need health insurance Throughout the pandemic, health insurance has been a critical lifeline for Utah families to stay healthy and avoid medical debt....

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Ciriac Alvarez Valle
    • Category: Updates & Blog

  • What happened to Coverage for All Kids this Session?

    This Session, one of Voices for Utah Children’s top priority bills received very little public attention despite its behind-the-scenes activity. Below we will unpack what happened, lessons we learned, and what we believe the path forward should be so...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Ciriac Alvarez Valle
    • Category: Updates & Blog

  • 2022 Legislative Session: Tax Policy: Giving In Again to the Tax Cut Temptation

    The story of tax policy in the 2022 Legislative session is a tale of two tax cuts: A large, top-heavy cut to the income tax rate from 4.95% to 4.85%. How large? $164 million. How top-heavy? 63% of it goes to the top 20% of taxpayers. all of whom have...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Matthew Weinstein
    • Category: Updates & Blog
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