Voices for Utah Children Articles

  • There’s No “Re-Opening” Utah Without More Child Care 

    Child care is arguably one of the biggest areas of economic weakness exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic and related economic crisis. For Utah, a new and better approach is necessary and within reach. Even before the pandemic forced statewide shutdowns in...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Anna Thomas
    • Category: Updates & Blog
  • What Does the Coronavirus Mean for Families’ Access to Health Care?

    A Look at How Utah Programs are Responding to the Coronavirus and Additional Actions Needed (UPDATED with new information about CHIP!) From prenatal care to childhood vaccinations, the Coronavirus is disrupting access to health care for countless Utah...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Questions?
    • Category: Updates & Blog
  • 2020 Census Video - Count the Kids!

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Terry Haven
    • Category: Updates & Blog
  • How Will The Coronavirus Impact Immigrants In Our State?

    The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted our communities in so many ways. Unfortunately, for many immigrant families this has disproportionately created more obstacles in their lives. Mixed-status and undocumented immigrants were largely left out of the...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Ciriac Alvarez Valle
    • Category: Updates & Blog
  • How Will the Coronavirus Recession Impact Utah?

    HOW WILL THE PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY AFFECT UTAH’S ECONOMY? HOW WILL RECENT FEDERAL ACTIONS HELP? WHAT DOES UTAH NEED TO DO NEXT? As Americans hunker down in their homes to avoid catching the coronavirus, and as Governors across the nation ban...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Matthew Weinstein
    • Category: Updates & Blog
  • National Orgs Call for Emergency Child Care Sector Relief

    Child care in Utah has always been critical to our state's economic health - and to the health, safety and well-being of the children of working families. In the current emergency situation, the preservation and support of this sector is even more...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Anna Thomas
    • Category: Updates & Blog
  • Voices for Utah Children Statement: COVID-19 and How the State Of Utah Should Protect Families

    On March 11, 2020, Governor Gary Herbert took the necessary step of declaring a state of emergency in Utah in order to address the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. As the state moves forward with immediate activity to address the health implications of...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Moe Hickey
    • Category: Updates & Blog
  • Let’s Keep All Families Covered: New Report Finds Number of Uninsured Latino Children in Utah on the Rise

    Let’s Keep All Families Covered: New Report Finds Number of Uninsured Latino Children in Utah on the Rise 2020 Utah Legislature Made Strides to Help All Children Stay Covered Decades of progress improving health coverage rates for Latino children has...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Ciriac Alvarez Valle
    • Category: Updates & Blog
  • Utah Legislature Funds to Keep Kids Covered!

    Voices for Utah Children celebrates the Legislature's support to Keep Utah Kids Covered and fund 12-month continuous eligibility for children on Medicaid, age 0-5. We want to express our gratitude and many thanks to Senator Luz Escamilla and to...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Jessie Mandle
    • Category: Updates & Blog
  • Make Sure Utah Counts 2020

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Terry Haven
    • Category: Updates & Blog
  • A Supplement to the 2019 Utah KIDS COUNT Data Book - Talking KIDS Tour 2019

    In 2019, we took on the ambitious goal of visiting every county in Utah. We shared county information from our annual KIDS COUNT book and talked about the importance of the upcoming Census 2020. To read about the key issues that we heard during our...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Terry Haven
    • Category: Updates & Blog
  • Three Things Utah Can Do to Ensure Right-Sized Access to Full-Day Kindergarten

    Parents want it. Kids benefit from it. Educators believe in it. So why don't Utah families have more access to full-day kindergarten? Our new report, "Three Things Utah Can Do to Ensure Right-Sized Access to Full-Day Kindergarten," explores the...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Anna Thomas
    • Category: Updates & Blog
  • Voices for Utah Children Opposes New Trump Administration Block Grant Guidance

    Today the Trump Administration released new Medicaid block grant options for states. We have seen previous attempts to block grant Medicaid; we continue to oppose this radical restructuring to the Medicaid program. The majority of Utah Medicaid...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Questions?
    • Category: Updates & Blog
  • Kinship Care Families Need Our Support

    Utah children live in all kinds of households and family arrangments. We want to support all of them in getting a healthy, happy start in life! And that means supporting the people who are taking care of them, temporarily or permanently, in Kinship...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Anna Thomas
    • Category: Updates & Blog
  • Statement Opposing Supreme Court Ruling on Public Charge

    This week, the Supreme Court of the United States voted in favor of the Trump Administration’s “Public Charge” Rule. With a 5-4 split vote, we understand how dividing this decision is, however, the Public Charge ruling will have negative impacts on...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Ciriac Alvarez Valle
    • Category: Updates & Blog
  • Utah Tax Incidence History: 1995 - 2018

    Utah Tax Incidence History 1995 - 2018 Utah is in the midst of the most intense debate over taxes that our state has seen in many years. In December the Legislature passed a major tax restructuring package following a year of public hearings and...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Matthew Weinstein
    • Category: Updates & Blog
  • Utah’s Medicaid Expansion is Here! What it Means for Kids and Families

    A quick recap of how Utah got to full Medicaid expansion: In November 2018, voters approved Proposition 3 which fully expanded Medicaid for those up to 138% of the federal poverty level, drawing down extra federal funding for full expansion. Then in...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Questions?
    • Category: Updates & Blog
  • Legislature Passes Tax Package Including Revenue Losses, Grocery Tax (and Credit), EITC

    Last night, December 12, 2019, the Utah Legislature passed a tax restructuring package in a special legislative session. Voices for Utah Children was very involved in this process over the course of the year. We attended the Tax Restructuring and...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Matthew Weinstein
    • Category: Updates & Blog
  • Wintertime Kids’ Coverage Roundup… Tis the Season (to get Insured!)

    It’s been a busy end-of-year for Utah kids’ health coverage, from ACA open enrollment to full Medicaid expansion (almost!). Here’s what’s been going on and what lies ahead in 2020... Where are Utah kids going?? At the last Utah Medicaid Advisory...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Questions?
    • Category: Updates & Blog
  • Thanks for Talking!

    Everyone at Voices for Utah Children would like to express our gratitude to everyone that met with us on the “Talking Kid’s Tour 2019”. We shared information from our KIDS COUNT County data pages with everyone and reminded them about the upcoming 2020...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Maurice F. Hickey
    • Category: Updates & Blog