Utah Rep Claims “No Childcare Crisis” Because We’re Not “Drugging Children in Huts” Like Kenya

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Examining Rep. Peck’s Comments Amid Defeat of Utah’s Child Care Capacity Bill

On March 6, 2025, Utah’s House of Representatives voted 22–48 against SB189, a bipartisan bill that would have created a public-private partnership to retrofit unused state buildings into childcare facilities. This marks the second consecutive year that the Child Care Capacity Expansion Act has failed to pass, despite being recommended by the Women in the Economy Commission and included as a priority in Governor Spencer Cox’s budget proposal for the session.

During floor debate, Rep. Nicholeen Peck (R-Tooele) made comments that have sparked controversy and condemnation from advocacy groups. According to official legislative records and direct reporting from The Salt Lake Tribune and Utah News Dispatch, Rep. Peck stated:

“People often speak of a child care crisis, and this term is a term that if applied to some places in the world, like maybe in Kenya, when there’s a mom in a hut, who drugs her children so that she can go out and work for a few hours to make enough money to get a bowl of rice because there’s literally no one around safe, maybe we could say that [is a child care crisis]. The term has been brought over here to first-world countries and it doesn’t mean the same thing.”

Rep. Peck also expressed her belief that it wasn’t the government’s responsibility to facilitate daycare centers for the community and suggested that the bill might “inadvertently be pulling children away from home-based child care, which actually gives them environments closer to their home environment, which is better for them socially and developmentally.”

Multiple Factors Led to the Bill’s Defeat

While Rep. Peck’s comments drew significant attention, the bill’s defeat appears to have resulted from multiple concerns raised by various lawmakers:

Some representatives, like Rep. Mark Strong (R-Bluffdale), argued that unused state buildings should be sold or used for state purposes rather than childcare partnerships
Rep. Anthony Loubet (R-Kearns) cited fiscal concerns, noting that one proposed building retrofit might cost $2.7 million instead of the estimated $2 million
Several lawmakers expressed philosophical objections to government involvement in childcare
The current legislative session has featured heightened scrutiny of spending proposals

It’s important to note that while Rep. Peck’s comments were controversial, they represent just one voice in a broader legislative debate that ultimately led to the bill’s defeat.

The Data on Utah’s Child Care Needs

According to research conducted by the Women in the Economy Subcommittee and cited during legislative debate:

75% of Utah mothers with school-age children are in the workforce
74% of two-parent households with children under age 6 need dual incomes to cover household expenses

Additional data from Voices for Utah Children paints an even more comprehensive picture:

Licensed childcare programs can serve only 36% of Utah’s children under six with both parents working
84% of parents report feeling overwhelmed by the cost of care
The average annual cost for two children under age six is $16,871 — about 17% of the state median income
Childcare costs have increased by 6% in one year, nearly twice the overall inflation rate
The poverty rate among Utah’s childcare providers is 23.1% — more than eight times higher than that of K-8 teachers

Response to Rep. Peck’s Comments

Rep. Angela Romero (D-Salt Lake City) responded directly during the floor debate, stating: “I just hate to compare us to another country when we live in the United States of America, and we are this family state that we claim to be here in Utah, but yet we don’t want to provide a private-public partnership to ensure that our children are safe. I find that problematic.”

Voices for Utah Children, an advocacy organization, issued an official statement condemning Rep. Peck’s remarks as “false and deeply offensive,” stating that her comments “dehumanized Kenyan women and perpetuated harmful stereotypes about Kenya.”

The Human Impact

For many Utah families, the defeat of SB189 represents a missed opportunity to address very real challenges.

Rep. Christine Watkins (R-Price) spoke to this reality during the debate: “If you’ve never been in a situation where you have no place to take your children, it’s awful. I’ve been there, and we have many, many smart, strong, hard-working women who would like to go to work, but they don’t have a place to take their children.”

This sentiment is echoed by families across the state, particularly in areas like Tooele County where population growth has outpaced childcare infrastructure development.

One Tooele resident described spending her entire pregnancy and maternity leave searching for childcare, only to find that “places in Tooele are unresponsive and places in Salt Lake are going to cost me $36,000 for two children.” When she contacted Rep. Peck about her concerns, she reports being told that “if Tooele doesn’t have many daycare centers, that means our market doesn’t have the need for one.”

What Was Proposed in SB189

The defeated bill, sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla (D-Salt Lake City) and House Sponsor Karianne Lisonbee, would have:

Identified unused or underutilized state-owned buildings suitable for childcare facilities
Created a framework for public-private partnerships with licensed childcare providers
Reserved at least half the spots in these facilities for state employees and military or National Guard members
Required providers to maintain high quality standards, including earning a “Building Quality,” “High Quality,” or “High Quality Plus” rating
Allocated $2 million from the General Fund for retrofitting buildings
Required providers to maintain at least one infant room and one toddler room at each facility
Established guidelines to ensure these facilities wouldn’t unfairly compete with existing private childcare centers

The bill specified that the goal was to “expand the state’s supply of high quality and affordable child care seats,” “support employers seeking to secure a reliable workforce,” and “support the economic prospects of parents of young children in the workforce.”

A similar bill failed last year due to fiscal concerns, and this year’s version met the same fate despite efforts to address those issues and despite being included in Governor Cox’s budget proposal.

Looking Forward

With Utah’s continued population growth, particularly in areas like Tooele where developments like Compass Point are adding thousands of new homes, the childcare shortage remains a challenge for working families.

The debate around SB189 highlighted fundamental differences in how policymakers view both the severity of the childcare shortage and the appropriate role of government in addressing it. While some lawmakers like Rep. Peck questioned whether a true “crisis” exists, others like Rep. Watkins spoke from personal experience about the very real struggles families face.

As one parent noted: “This isn’t about government handouts or politics. When so many families need dual incomes just to cover basics, childcare isn’t a luxury — it’s an economic necessity.”

Whether through legislation or private sector solutions, the data suggests Utah’s childcare challenges will require thoughtful approaches that balance the needs of families, providers, and communities.

Sources for this article include official legislative records, reporting from The Salt Lake Tribune, Utah News Dispatch, statements from Voices for Utah Children, the Women in the Economy Commission, the bill text of SB189, and interviews with affected families.