CEDAR CITY - When Southern Utah University closed its on-campus child care services last spring the impact was felt most by the school's students who relied on the low-cost service to stay enrolled in classes.

LAYTON -- A Layton mom made an eye-opening discovery about child care centers in Utah when her son was slightly injured at his care center.

Low-income parents who have recently lost their jobs can now take advantage of a new state program that pays for day care while they search for work. Federal stimulus dollars will fuel the "Kids in Care" program, which will cover up to 100 hours of child care per household.

Dozens if not hundreds of childcare providers will lose their licenses over the next year due to a new Utah law targeting undocumented immigrants.

When Brittany Nguyen lost her job earlier this year, her state subsidy for child care quickly disappeared. If she hadn't found a new position fast, the single mom from Midvale knows the job hunt likely would have meant bringing her toddler in tow.

For Utah's poorest parents, getting a raise at work can seem like a punishment. If they make a dollar beyond a certain income, the state revokes their entire child-care subsidy, the dollars that made going to work feasible.

Taxpayer dollars - paid as child care subsidies - have been going to Utahns convicted of operating a methamphetamine lab, armed robberies, aggravated assault and even child neglect.

Rep. Jim Dunnigan, an insurance broker, was shocked two years ago when one of his two employees rejected a pay raise because it would put her above the income threshold for child care vouchers.