State Policy

This Early Childhood Care & Education (ECCE) Advocacy Convening is for our grassroots partners in the childcare and early education fields, who want to be help build a better child care system to serve Utah families! 

This ECCE gathering will be an interactive, accessible half-day event for parents (and other who are responsible for young children), child care providers, community advocates, and early education advocates from all over Utah.

** For attendees traveling from off the Wasatch Front, free lodging is available for the evening of Friday, April 1, in downtown Salt Lake City. You must register by 12:00 p.m. on March 21 in order to take advantage of this offer. 

LOCATION

• IN PERSON: Capitol Board Room 204 (2nd Level) at the Utah State Capitol Building in Salt Lake City

• ONLINE: Zoom access provided in the week prior to the event to registered attendees 

DATE

This training is being held on a Saturday (April 2)  in order to be more inclusive of early education professionals who are busy caring for and teaching children throughout the work week, as well as the working parents who rely on these folks while they themselves are on the job. 

TIME

The training will begin at 9:00 a.m. and end at 2:30 p.m. 

SCHEDULE

• 8:30 to 9:00 a.m. - Breakfast Social with free hot breakfast provided by Elizabeth's Catering 
• 9:00 to 9:30 a.m. - Welcome and Overview
• 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. - Panel Discussion with Utah Legislators
• 10:30 to 10:45 a.m. - Break
• 10:45 to 12:15 p.m. - Interactive Child Care Advocacy Strategizing for 2022-23 
• 12:15 to 12:30 p.m. - Free hot lunch served by Elizabeth's Catering
• 12:30 to 1:15 p.m. - Lunch discussion with Panel of National Child Care Advocacy Leaders
• 1:15 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. - Small group planning for 2022-23 Advocacy Action
• 2:00 to 2:30 p.m. - Wrap Up and Appreciations   

There is no cost to attend, but in-person participation is limited. Participants can attend either in person or online. Registration must be completed by Friday, March 25.

Register Today

Kids Count Utah: A Data Book on the Measures of Child Well-Being in Utah, 2021 is the first glance at the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Utah’s children. Please click on the button below for the full report. 

2021 UTAH KIDS COUNT DATA BOOK

Children under the age of 18 make up a third of the state’s population. Not surprisingly, Utah children and their families faced additional challenges as a result of living through a global pandemic.

Unfortunately, over 10 percent of Utah children are experiencing poverty. Additionally, since 2019 Utah saw an increase of over 4,000 additional children considered to be in Intergenerational Poverty (IGP). More children caught in a cycle of IGP is concerning as it could mean that their own children may continue that same cycle if their economic situation does not improve.

Providing a quality education to children during the pandemic continues to be a challenge. The most recent data shows that student proficiency assessment results decreased over the past year. And data also shows that many children are not receiving the mental health treatment they need. A new data indicator shared in the 2021 data book looked at access to mental health. The data collected from the National Survey of Children’s Health shows that approximately 60% of three- to 17-year-olds struggling with mental health are not receiving treatment.

Voices for Utah Children hopes that the yearly KIDS COUNT data book project and the publication of Measuring of Child Well-Being in Utah continues to be a valuable resource that can provide guidance to both policymakers and the general public on how to improve the lives and futures of Utah children.

This Early Childhood Care & Education (ECCE) Advocacy Training is designed especially for our grassroots partners in the childcare and early education fields, who want to be more involved in advocating for state and federal policies that support Utah families with young children! 

Our ECCE Training will be an interactive, accessible half-day event for early educators, providers, community advocates, parents and policy partners from all over Utah.

Location

** This event has been moved to online/remote-only to keep all our parents, early educators and advocates from getting sick during this COVID "surge" season **

Date

This training is being held on a Saturday (Jan 22)  in order to be more inclusive of early education professionals who are busy caring for and teaching children throughout the work week, as well as the working parents who rely on these folks while they themselves are on the job. 

Time

The training will begin at 9:00 a.m. and end at 12:30 p.m. 

Participants will:

• Receive accurate, understandable information about:
  • the new Child Care and Pre-K programs before Congress that may soon to be available to states, and 
  • state legislation related to early care and education expected in the 2022 legislative session.
• Build basic advocacy skills.
• Gain a familiarity with the state legislative process. 
• Receive support in developing plans for advocating in their sphere of influence.
• Meet other advocates who are passionate about early childhood care and education.
• Create an individual advocacy plan, based on their interests and abilities, that may include: 
  • Following bills and listening to legislative meetings via le.utah.gov. 
  • Calling or writing to their Representative or Senator.
  • Visiting their Representative or Senator on the Hill.
  • Providing public testimony.
  • Participating in public education via local media outlets.
  • Inviting their Representative and Senator to visit childcare and preschool sites.
  • Attending regular advocacy gatherings for information and updates.

There is no cost to attend, but in-person participation is limited. Participants can attend either in person or online. Registration must be completed by Monday, January 17.

Register Today

The recent reporting on widespread racism in the Davis School District is not just a wake up call to all Utahns, but the direct result of the legacy we have fostered by leaving racism unchecked, ignored, and accepted. Now is the time to take action. 

We at Voices are committed and prepared to speak up and to work with other organizations to create a Utah where all residents regardless of race, creed, color, sexual orientation, or status can live free of hatred, racism, and bigotry.

Here are some of the ways you can help support the actions we are currently working on: 

• Support our 100% Kids Coverage Campaign to help strengthen healthcare access for Utah families regardless of where they live or where they were born by sharing your story on health coverage here. 
• Learn more about current Juvenile Justice issues disproportionately impacting youth of color in our state. 
• Submit a comment on the proposed DACA rule to ask the Biden Administration to strengthen the DACA program rather than leaving it open to the possibility of removing workers permits to the hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients in this country. 
• Read why we are pushing to get access to full day kindergarten for all Utah kids. 

Our full statement can be found below or downloaded here.