3 days Ago
Dozens of Utah families in the military, or with connections to it, are searching for new child care options after a facility on Hill Air Force Base closed last week. Approximately 31 families’ children no longer have a spot in a care facility on the Davis County base, a spokesperson for Hill Air Force Base confirmed, and Military.com first reported .
Families were notified of a possible closure at the beginning of the month, and the termination of one of two child development centers — for kids 6 weeks to 5 years old — was announced in mid-March. The shuttering of one of two child development centers was triggered in part by a civilian hiring freeze for the Defense Department, issued at the end of February under President Donald Trump’s executive order “ Implementing the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Workforce Optimization Initiative .” In a memo distributed last week , the department said a number of positions — including “Instructors or facility support staff at DoD Schools or Child Care Centers” — were exempt from the freeze.
But a statement from Hill Air Force Base said pausing hiring made it difficult for the second child development center to continue operating. “CDCs traditionally face high turnover, and several recent departures in conjunction with the hiring freeze have reduced the number of supervisors and trainers available,” spokesperson Kendahl Johnson wrote in the statement. “Maintaining two open CDCs at current personnel levels would pose an unacceptable risk to the 200 children who remain in care at Hill AFB.
” Johnson said it’s unclear when the second child development center might reopen, although the hiring freeze for child care has been lifted. “The hiring, on-boarding, and training process will take time,” the statement said. This comes amid an ongoing child care shortage in Utah.
A report published by the advocacy group Voices for Utah Children in 2023 found that licensed child care providers meet just 36% of the statewide demand. Lawmakers voted to disband the Women in the Economy Commission , a state entity working to find solutions to the crisis, in the final hours of this year’s legislative session. The bill awaits the governor’s signature.
Hill Air Force Base has made headlines for its possible role in other drastic actions the Trump administration has undertaken since the president’s inauguration earlier this year. It is reportedly among the military installations the White House has eyed as a possible detention hub as it carries out mass deportations..
