Voices for Utah Children Articles
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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
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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
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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
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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
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* * 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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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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Invest in Utah's Future, Not Tax Cuts
BROAD COALITION CALLS FOR INVESTMENT IN UTAH’S FUTURE, NOT TAX CUTS, DOCUMENTS $5.2 BILLION IN URGENT UNMET NEEDS Salt Lake City – On Monday, November 8, 2021 on the steps of the Utah Capitol, a broad and diverse coalition of advocates for the poor,...
- Type: Article
- Author: Matthew Weinstein
- Category: Updates & Blog
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New Report on the Important Role of School-Based Health Services Across Utah!
School Health Services Overview: Promoting Student Health, Wellness and Success Schools play a vital role in helping children and families stay healthy. Over the past year, Utah schools experienced a heightened focus on their role in promoting student...
- Type: Article
- Author: Jessie Mandle
- Category: Updates & Blog
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Why is Utah Restricting Medicaid Benefits for Parents? Your Comments are (Still) Needed!
Let's Change this Discriminatory Policy! In 2002, long before the Affordable Care Act, Utah decided to offer limited health benefits to low-income adults, who otherwise could not get health insurance. To help pay for these benefits, the state made the...
- Type: Article
- Author: Ciriac Alvarez Valle
- Category: Updates & Blog
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NEW BRIEF: The Future of Full-Day Kindergarten in Utah
More than 18 months ago - right before the pandemic started to truly rock our world - we released "Three Things Utah Can Do to Ensure Right-Sized Access to Full-Day Kindergarten," a wide-ranging report on the status of full-day kindergarten (FDK)...
- Type: Article
- Author: Anna Thomas
- Category: Updates & Blog
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NEW REPORT: Covering Uninsured Kids Will Save Utah Millions Every Year
Utah has 82,000 uninsured children, according to the most recent Census data, which means an estimated 8.3% of children in Utah do not have health insurance. Utah currently ranks 46th in the nation for insured children. When it comes to addressing this...
- Type: Article
- Author: Jessie Mandle
- Category: Updates & Blog
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Good News and Bad News for Utah in New Census Report on State Education Investment
On May 18, 2021, as it always does around this time of year, the US Census Bureau released its Annual Survey of School System Finances. This report is the authoritative source of state education finance data and rankings, including the one we are all...
- Type: Article
- Author: Matthew Weinstein
- Category: Updates & Blog
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The 2021 Utah Legislative Session: Was It Good For Kids?
We appreciate the many legislators that supported bills affecting children. In summary, it WAS a good year for kids, but we still have plenty to do and we look forward to working together to #investinutahkids! Early Childhood Early childhood care and...
- Type: Article
- Author: Sara Gunderson
- Category: Updates & Blog
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Legislative leaders have said that 2021 should be “the year of the tax cut.” Numerous public opinion surveys show that Utahns disagree. This may come as a surprise to policymakers, who have been in the habit of handing out tax break after tax break for...
- Type: Article
- Author: Matthew Weinstein
- Category: Updates & Blog
