Utah Employer Child Care Toolkit
A TOOLKIT for EMPLOYERS:
A guide to strategies to support the recruitment and retention of employees -- particularly for parents with children.
Family-Friendly Policies, Child Care Support and Community Impact
- Many employers face challenges in the recruitment and retention of employees. Often, there’s a gap between available job postings and people who may be unemployed, which means employers and communities may need to develop strategies to expand labor force participation.
- Increasingly, there is interest among employers to support working parents to ensure the culture of the company is one where parents want to be hired and want to stay working.
Boost Your Company’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
When it comes to today’s competitive jobs market, recruiting and retaining talented employees is essential for every business. The best way to recruit and retain top talent is by understanding why employees look to leave a job and what policies could foster company loyalty and a culture of respect and engagement that leads to higher productivity.
Untapped Potential in Utah: How Child Care Impacts Utah’s Workforce Productivity and the State Economy (2022 Report)
-$1.36 Billion
Annual loss to Utah’s economy from child care challenges
-$1.1 Billion
Estimated costs to employers due to employee absences and employee turnover
-$258 Million
Annual loss in tax revenue due to child care challenges
43%
Utah parents who reported missing work or class at least once in the past 3 months due to child care challenges
Investing in family-friendly policies and child care can boost employee morale and job satisfaction, reduce turnover, and increase productivity.
Utah Statistics
148,134
Children under age 6 in Utah with working parents
254,688
School-age children in Utah with working parents
63.3%
Working mothers in Utah with children under age 6
76.3%
Working mothers in Utah with children age 6-17
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 American Community Survey, 1-Year Estimates
About the Toolkit
Promise Partnership Utah, VOICES for Utah Children, Utah Community Builders, and the Committee for Economic Development (CED) of The Conference Board have partnered on a business toolkit for child care to highlight ways through which employers can:
- expand the availability of child care,
- promote ways to make child care more affordable, and
- promote family-friendly workplace policies to help balance the stress between work and family.
Promise Partnership Utah is a cross-sector network of communities, businesses, schools, colleges, organizations and individuals that are committed to working together to improve education, health and economic mobility from birth to career. For more information, visit promisepartnership.org.
VOICES for Utah Children is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that advocates for and advances policies and practices that are good for all of Utah’s children. As a multi-issue child advocacy organization, Voices for Utah Children is making a difference in our kids' lives by raising awareness, influencing policy, and uniting our community. For more information, visit utahchildren.org.
Utah Community Builders is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and a program of the Salt Lake Chamber Foundation. Utah Community Builders engages business leaders to address pressing social issues and to develop and strengthen Utah’s workforce. We harness the innovation and efficiency of the private sector to drive real progress on community issues affecting our businesses, workforce, families, and all Utahns.
The Committee for Economic Development (CED) is the public policy center of The Conference Board. The nonprofit, nonpartisan, business-led organization delivers well-researched analysis and reasoned solutions in the nation’s interest. CED Trustees are chief executive officers and key executives of leading US companies who bring their unique experience to address today’s pressing policy issues. Collectively they represent 30+ industries and over 4 million employees.