child care

“The World is Our Campus” — this has never been more true than the last few semesters when students have tuned into BYU classes from every corner of the world via Zoom. While many look forward to gathering again, some students dread the end of a much more accessible educational experience.

Lawmakers passed 574 bills this year, setting a record. Most of those new laws will go into effect on Tuesday, May 14, 60 days after the end of the short legislative session. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

Deborah Lamb Osborn was in the process of a divorce when she moved to Utah.

BYU student parent Katelyn Casperson holds her six-month-old son Rigel. Casperson has struggled balancing school and childcare, and currently attends school only part-time since she and her husband can't afford both child care and full-time school tuition. (Taija Leonard)

Destini Van Leeuwen and her husband, Travis, struggle to find child care for their two sons, Wyatt and Emri. The couple also has a 6-month-old. (Kallie Peterson)

Utah Office of Child Care program officer KC Hutton said their office's biggest challenges are accessibility, encouraging people to enter the child care field and helping child care programs become sustainable. However, the Office of Child Care offers a number of resources to address these issues, including subsidies for low-income families, grants for child care providers in rural areas and scholarships that allow child care workers to subsidize professional development courses. (iStock)

BYU Ph.D. student Jessica Wilkinson plays with her two kids. She uses the Momni app and website that connects parents to other parents to participate in 'caresharing,' similar to ride-sharing. (Lexie Flickinger)