Frequently Asked Questions

How can I get help paying for child care?
The Department of Workforce Services offers child care subsidies based on income eligibility. Follow this link for more information, including the online application form.
Some child care providers are willing to offer discounts when you enroll more than one child from the same family.

How can I find out if the place I want to take my child to has ever had any complaints?
The Bureau of Child Care Licensing, 801-525-1400 can tell you about any substantiated complaints and also the compliance history of regulated child care providers. These records are open to the public. The licensing office requests that you please narrow down your list to only 2 or 3 providers before you call for this information.

What is the legal age that a child must reach in order to be left home alone?
Utah Does not currently have a law regarding the age of children who can be left home alone. However, we have put together a checklist of suggested knowledge and skills that a child should have before being left home alone. Follow this link to download the checklist.

Are there providers who will watch my children in my house?
The safety of the location where care is being provided is part of the licensing process through the Bureau of Child Care Licensing; therefore, providers are not able to provide care except in the location they are licensed for. There are nanny agencies that would provide one on one care; however, they are usually quite a bit more expensive.

What if I need a preschool, not a full time child care?
Preschools are not licensed by the State of Utah. We have put together a short preschool guide that may help you in your search. You may want to keep your eyes open when driving to and from work to see if there are any advertised, and keep your ears open and ask around. You can also check with your city to see if they have a list of businesses with preschool licenses.

What can I do with my school-aged child during the summer?
Every May we produce a Summer Activity Guide. This guide contains information on different camps and activities that are available for school age children to participate in during those summer months when they are not wanting to stay at home, but not wanting to go to child care.

What if I need care outside of Weber, Davis & Morgan Counties?
Utah has a Child Care Resource & Referral Network that covers the entire state. If you need care outside of Utah, Child Care Aware can help.

How much does child care cost?
We produce a quarterly report that lists the average monthly costs of child care. Please refer to our Child Care Statistics page for the most current report.

What is the difference between a child care center and a family child care provider?
Centers are non-residential facilities where they enroll more than 12 children at a time. The children are generally split up by age group into different classrooms. Family child care providers can care for children in their own homes. They usually care for children up to age 12 and there are typically a variety of age groups enrolled.

Which is better, a child care center or a family provider?
The answer to this question varies depending on your family's specific needs. First and foremost, it is important to choose a quality environment for your child. The provider that best accommodates all of your needs that you feel is the highest quality location will probably vary greatly from the situation of your friends and neighbors and maybe even your own previous experiences. Because every child is a unique individual and every family's needs are different, you are in the best position to decide where the best place for your child will be. This is one of the reasons that we recommend taking the time to visit and assess both types of child care environments in order to find out which you feel the most comfortable with and will best accommodate your situation.

What if I am having a really hard time finding a provider who will transport my child to and from school?
This can definitely be challenging. If you have contacted the providers closest to your child's school and are not finding one that can accommodate all of your needs, some other ideas you may consider are: talking to other parents in your child's class to see if they would be interested in a carpool situation, talk to your child's school administrator to see if your child could switch busses to ride to a provider's location that has the opening but may not be able to do the transportation, talk to your boss at work and see if you might be able to work out a scheduling arrangement that would allow you to take care of the transportation yourself; more drastically, you may even consider transferring your child to a different elementary school in an area where more providers are able to accommodate the transportation.