Who's taking care of Johnny? child care attracts employees.

• Author: Thomas, Jane McNamara

WHO'S TAKING CARE OF JOHNNY?

Child Care Attracts Employees

Child care isn't just a social issue--it impacts business with employee stress and absenteeism--even here in Utah, the "family" state. Nearly 60 percent of Utah women now work, a figure higher than the national average of 57.4 percent. For the lucky ones, it's a matter of choice; for most, it's a financial necessity. Low wages and the high cost of living have forced many women to work outside the home just to make ends meet. It's no surprise a large number of these working women are mothers. Most are part of two-parent families, but thousands are single mothers struggling to earn a living and to raise their children on their own.

Utah's Child-Care Crisis

According to the Utah State Office of Child Care, there are approximately 250,000 children in the state under the age of 13 who need some kind of child care because their parents work. Less than half of them attend a licensed daycare; the rest are in unlicensed homes, in the care of relatives, or home alone. Director Dianne Yancey says the statistics show Utah is in a child-care crisis with children in this state suffering from a serious lack of quality care.

Though women are at the center of the child-care problem they are not the only ones caught in the middle. Single and even married fathers face many of the same problems. However, the real victims are the children.

One reason the state lacks quality child-care is that many care providers lack professional training. Another is that most parents don't understand what a quality program is or how to find one. Too many parents choose child care on the basis of location and cost alone. "We take more time investigating and researching automobiles than we do day-care centers," comments Yancey. She agrees it's a situation that can be improved through the joint efforts of community groups, churches, and businesses.

The Utah State Office of Child Care was created to address all aspects of the child-care issue, but Yancey says "Its primary goal is to get the corporate sector more involved in child care." It's a mission that has the full support of governor Norman Bangerter and the Utah Department of Community and Economic Development. Just a year ago the governor and the state Legislature established the Utah State Office of Child Care under the umbrella of economic development. The move sent a signal to the Utah business community that it must be a part of the child-care solution.

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