The average subsidy is $280, but the actual amount depends on several factors. Darcy Murphy receives $87 a month, which covers a little less than half of her child-care expenses.

Murphy learned about child-care assistance while staying at the YWCA with her nearly 3-year-old daughter, Devi. The program was a "life saver," Murphy said, enabling her to place her daughter at the Y.'s Lolie Eccles Childcare Center.

Within months, the benefits of the program's structured environment and focus on early education began to show, Murphy said. Devi was counting to 10 on her own, and her mother "noticed a complete difference in her verbal skills."

Devi had been staying with a relative in a much less structured environment while Murphy, a student at Salt Lake Community College, attends classes during the day. "You get what you pay for," Murphy said. "I was comforted to know that she was being taken care of well while I was doing what I needed to do."

Even those families that don't receive the child-care aid, however, recognize the value of the assistance.

It is in a community's best interest to have children in a safe, stable and mentally stimulating environment, said David Sidlow of Salt Lake City. Sidlow and his wife, Stacia, selected the Lolie Eccles Childcare Center for their son, Finn, after visiting about a dozen other facilities.

"It was not a fun few weeks for us. There are some day cares out there that we would not feel good about putting Finn there."

Unfortunately, Sidlow said, "For so many people, that's the only choice they can make."

The federal government has suggested that states establish child-care subsidies in the 75th percentile of a state's market. In Utah, the subsidies, which have not been increased since 2001, are well below that benchmark.

According to the Office of Work and Family Life, the current infant subsidy rate is at 42 percent and the toddler rate at 50 percent. The low rates mean that families, even with a subsidy, can only afford about half of the child-care facilities in their area.

As long as money dictates quality, said parent Karen Klucznik, policymakers should work to level the child-care playing field.

"I feel very strongly that, to the extent we can, we pretty much have a societal duty to provide that opportunity to as many children as we can," said Klucznik, whose 2-year-old son, Dean, is in the same YWCA class as Murphy's daughter.