SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Dozens of people gathered in front of the Utah State Capitol to bring attention to how thousands of children across the state could be impacted by cuts to federal childcare funding.
The Utah Department of Workforce Services said earlier this year that it received around $20 million less in federal childcare funding due to cuts, forcing changes that put around 900 families at risk of losing childcare assistance.
However, people at the demonstration organized by the Utah Coalition for Childcare said the impact goes further than 900 families.
"Between the kids who will lose their childcare subsidy and have cuts to the amount of money that they get, it's going to impact nearly 11,000 kids," said Jefferson Curtis, a director at Utah Works for Families.
To show just how many kids are affected, the coalition cut and strung together 10,743 paper dolls representing each child who could see less money for childcare.
Put together, the display is estimated to stretch more than a mile long.
"These aren't just numbers on a spreadsheet — these are children," Curtis said. "And I can't believe that I have to say this, but we should care immensely about what happens to the children of our state, whether they're ours or not."
People at the demonstration said the cuts also impact businesses that specialize in childcare, since they rely on children who use childcare assistance to stay afloat.
Karina Palestina owned one such business.
"After a few months, I had to close because of funding, because of all of the expenses of having a place, a center, carries," Palestina said.
When a daycare center closes down, Palestina said it greatly impacts the kids who went there.
"They not only lose their trusted teacher, people that care for them and someone that teaches them, gets them ready for school, but also they suffer from being ... their routine gets modified," Palestina said.
It's because of the impact on businesses and children that the people gathered wanted to raise awareness and start a dialogue with lawmakers to see if there's any way to reallocate money to fill the funding gap the federal cuts created.
"It's probably not going to be easy. There are going to be some hurdles to overcome, but there are ways we can make this happen and we're willing to work with our leaders," Curtis said. "Republican, Democrat, anywhere in between. Let's all sit down at a table and figure this out."