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Senate committee backs home‑based childcare bill with $2.3M grant but debate continues over raising cap to 10 children
Summary
SB 2.14 would create a $2.3 million grant program to seed roughly 1,000 home‑based childcare providers (about $5,000 each), require fingerprinting and CPR training for registered providers, and raise the unlicensed/registered cap from 8 to 10; the committee advanced the bill unanimously amid stakeholder concerns about ratios and competition with licensed centers.
A Utah Senate committee voted unanimously to send SB 2.14, a package of measures aimed at expanding home‑based childcare, to the full Senate after lengthy testimony from health, childcare and rural business representatives.
Sponsor Senator Escamilla described the bill as "a labor of love" intended to close childcare gaps in rural and urban areas. The bill includes a one‑time $2,300,000 grant fund intended to support about 1,000 new home‑based providers with roughly $5,000 per provider, plus additional matching and technical assistance from private partners. The bill would raise the maximum number of children allowed in the new registered home‑based category from 8 to 10 and requires criminal background checks,…
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