‘It’s so stressful’ 

Nestled in what many consider the middle of nowhere, the small town of Hanksville in Wayne County is situated right at the center of some of Utah’s most popular desert attractions. 

Utahns and tourists from all over the world often stop in Hanksville as they pass through town or make it their home base for adventures in places like Goblin Valley State Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Lake Powell, Ding and Dang Slot Canyon, Moonscape Overlook, and the Bentonite Hills. 

While its population hovers around a modest 200, Hanksville’s many businesses provide amenities to thousands upon thousands, from gas and a bite to eat, to overnight lodging and tours. 

But residents and local employees have zero options for licensed child care facilities to rely on while they work to provide those services. 

“We have Hanksville [social media] pages where moms were always like… ‘Can anyone watch so-and-so?’” explained Shandee Weihing, who lives in Hanksville with her family. “I have five kids, so it's really hard for me to be like, ‘Hey, can you watch all of them?’” 

Weihing says she’s worked her entire adult life and at one point was a single mom, having to rely on family members to babysit because there was nowhere else for her to turn. 

“It's so stressful,” she said. “I always felt like you were like, a burden to your friends and family, constantly asking.” 

Searching for a solution 

There are no licensed child care facilities in Wayne or Piute counties, and “very, very few” in San Pete, Sevier, and Juab counties, according to R6 Regional Council economic development coordinator Abby Ivory. 

“A mom came to the county commissioners and said, ‘This is a problem,’” Ivory said. 

That was in the spring of 2024, she explained, about a month before Ivory was hired for the role and subsequently tasked with finding a solution to the state’s child care desert. 

She immediately felt for what parents are going through. 

“I myself have dealt with child care issues. I was a single mom… I know how hard it is,” she expressed. “You want to find somebody that you trust and that you love.” 

Ivory pointed out that the child care drought doesn’t just impact tourism-related jobs.  

For example in Piute County, she noted, the school district was losing staff because teachers didn’t have daycare options. 

As she began brainstorming a solution, Ivory thought of the state-funded Rural County Grant (RCG) that awards up to $200,000 to rural counties annually for use toward economic development opportunities. 

“I thought, maybe we can solve it with this program,” Ivory said. “That's kind of where we started developing it, and went to the board.” 

The Wayne County Economic Development Board turned their RCG funds into a child care assistance grant, Ivory explained, “to incentivize people to create these licensed daycare facilities.” 

Anyone awarded grant money would first need to spend their own funds on startup costs like licensing, construction, and equipment, with the grant acting as a reimbursement. 

“We’re not just handing out money… it’s a partnership,” Ivory said. “We want people to be invested in this.” 

New opportunities in two communities 

One of the applications came from sister-brother team Kailee and Jaden Blackburn in Loa, who heard about the grant through a family member. 

Being daycare owners wasn’t something the two had ever thought about before, saying they both work fulltime jobs, and it would require a significant investment to completely renovate a vacant family-owned building. 

But upon conducting a community survey, plus knowing about the grant, the two decided to launch Little Wayne Wonders with a focus on affordable rates. 

“This is just something that we knew was a huge need right now,” Kailee Blackburn said. “It's been our goal from the beginning to just be able to open a daycare that's an actually affordable daycare.” 

Their building on Main Street in Loa was built in the 1920s and has housed many different businesses over the years, the siblings said. 

Turning the 100-year-old space into a daycare required serious upgrades to get it up to the right standards. 

“We were starting from a building that was in pretty rough condition,” Jaden Blackburn said. “We wanted to take the coal furnace out, which entailed a lot of gutting. We took out a lot of floors and a lot of walls.”  

“At one point we’re like, ‘Should we just tear down the entire building?’” Kailee Blackburn joked, and the two laughed. 

As they worked on their Main Street daycare makeover, another application came in from Shandee Weihing on the other side of Wayne County. 

After hearing of the grant opportunity, she and her husband decided to remodel their garage into Desert Blossoms Daycare so Weihing could provide care for Hanksville families. 

“There’s been talk around town, and I've had a lot of people reach out to me,” Weihing said. “They're excited.” 

‘It’s a big deal’ 

Weihing said her grant was approved for a 50/50 reimbursement of up to $19,000, meaning that half of Weihing’s initial investment up to $38,000 will be reimbursed by the grant.  

After several weeks of renovations, Desert Blossoms Daycare recently opened and Weihing said she already has 10 children, with capacity for 15. 

The former garage space is now a huge room with a kitchenette and areas for eating, playing, napping, and learning. 

“I want the kids to feel safe and welcome here,” she said. “And the parents as well.” 

The months-long remodel of Jaden and Kailee Blackburn’s family building is nearly complete. The two say they are waiting on licensing before they finish. 

Once open, they expect Little Wayne Wonders to reach capacity at 28 kids. 

In their case, the 50/50 reimbursement grant was approved for $22,800.  

The two emphasized their thankfulness for the grant as well as support from the R6 Regional Council team. 

“That grant has been really, really vital in making this happen,” Jaden Blackburn said. “It's not financially feasible without the government stepping in… and really, we’re very grateful to Ivory.” 

Ivory expressed being thrilled to see both sides of Wayne County making progress toward giving families options for licensed child care. 

“Just having this opportunity, it's a big deal,” she said. “All my kids are grown now, so I don’t have to worry about that. But I know hard it is to do this, and so I'm excited that I get to help others.”