Voices for Utah Children, the state’s leading children’s policy advocacy organization, released its biennial Children’s Budget Report. The report, published every other year, measures how much (before and after inflation) the state invests every year in Utah’s children by dividing all state programs concerning children (which add up to about half of the overall state budget) into seven categories, without regard to their location within the structure of state government. The seven categories are as follows, in descending order by dollar value (adding state and federal funds together):
Public investment in children should be understood as a central component of Utah’s economic development strategy. Examining how much Utah invests in children can help the state evaluate whether it is maximizing the potential of our future workforce through our investment in human capital.
This is especially important given the rapid demographic changes taking place in our state. The 2020 Census found that 30% of Utahns under 18 are members of a racial or ethnic minority (almost one-third of our future workforce), compared to just 24% in 2010. The investments we make today in reducing racial and ethnic gaps among Utah’s children will enable the state to thrive and prosper for generations to come
Report highlights are as follows
Good News: Utah is investing more in the next generation now than ever before, both overall and on a per-child basis
Not-so-good News: The non-K-12 Education portion of the Children’s Budget peaked on a per-child basis in FY 2016 and has fallen since then by 2%
Bad News: Utah’s education funding effort continues to fall to record low levels
Additional Trends: Changes in Funding by Source
Trends in Education Funding: UT beat ID for 49th place, still far behind US overall
