Taylor Stevens

2 days ago | fox13now.com | Taylor Stevens

SALT LAKE CITY — As the Utah Legislature faced concerns from some parents and child advocates about its push to allow more children in unlicensed daycares, state legislators proposed a compromise of sorts. In an effort to increase access to child care, they voted in recent years to double the number of children permitted in these centers, which are largely unregulated and do not receive annual safety inspections. Unlicensed daycares can now care for eight kids.

3 weeks ago | fox13now.com | Taylor Stevens

A new state law will ban seclusion among Utah kindergartners starting May 7. Opponents of seclusion say it’s a positive step and should help decrease the use of the intervention in the state moving forward.

1 month ago | fox13now.com | Taylor Stevens

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah patients and health care advocates are celebrating after Gov. Spencer Cox signed a bill last week banning surprise billing for ground ambulances — making Utah the 19th state to implement such protections. The new law — which received support from both ambulance companies and insurance providers during this year’s legislative session — will also include a slight increase in the statewide base rate for ambulance services to cover supply costs.

1 month ago | fox13now.com | Taylor Stevens

LOA, Utah — Young families in Wayne County have had to make some hard choices about how to work and take care of their kids. Some residents in the southeastern Utah community — which is one of four counties with no access to licensed child care in the state — have extended family who can step up to help during the workday. Others are able to bring their kids to work with them or work from home. And still other parents have decided to go part time or quit jobs they’d rather keep.

1 month ago | fox13now.com | Taylor Stevens

LOA, Utah — Loryn Morgan, the office manager at Blackburn Propane in Loa, sometimes jokes that she works at a “full-time daycare with a part-time job.”On a recent workday, the TV in her office plays cartoons. Nearby, a crib sits ready in the corner. And in the hallway, a baby gate guards the stairwell and a toybox is filled to the brim. Morgan lives in southeastern Utah’s Wayne County, which is one of four counties in the state that has absolutely no licensed child care options.