Government services typically run the gamut from police officers on patrol to public works employees patching potholes.
But did you know Salt Lake County does day care?
Across the state, Salt Lake County is the only county that runs an ambitious day-care operation that saw 2,635 children enrolled in 2000.
From the east at Millcreek to the west in Magna, parents have the option of turning to their neighborhood county recreation center for someone to watch after their children.
There are five on-site day-care operations that offer full-time care to children, provided parents pay. Nonresidents may enroll their children too, and the cost is the same for both.
The centers also offer summer camps for children, off-track care for children and preschool. The county leases space from schools to run some after-school programs as well.
The adapted summer camp program offers full-time summer recreation activities for children and teenagers with mild to moderate physical or mental disabilities. Program director Kym Halbash said it is the only full-time program of its type in the state.
The entire Salt Lake County child-care operation is funded at about $1.7 million this year. It is 100 percent self-sufficient and does not receive any subsidy from the county.
Glen Lu, director of the parks and recreation division, said child-care services were started in the early '70s because the county saw the need.
Lu recalls the time the county launched its first summer day camp decades ago.
"Our goal was to get 40 kids. By the next year, we had 300 to 400 kids. The program was that big."
The county can wisely tap into its own resources to include diverse services in the child care it offers.
The five full-time operations are housed in recreation centers, a feature that gives children access to a pool, a well-stocked arts and craft room, a basketball gym and even kindly senior citizens.
Lu said there have been protests lodged off and on over the years by private day-care providers who say the county should get out of the child-care business and quit competing with them.
With thousands of kids enjoying the benefits of county services in a self-sufficient venture, Lu says the county is obviously filling a gap.
E-MAIL: amyjoi@desnews.com