Child Care WAGE$® of Kansas

Child Care WAGE$® provides education-based salary supplements to child care providers/early education staff working with children between the ages of 0-5 who meet salary guidelines. The project is designed to provide young children more stable relationships with better educated teachers by rewarding teacher education and continuity of care.

Child Care Aware® of Kansas is the agency in Kansas that is licensed through Child Care Services of Association in Chapel Hill North Carolina to administer the WAGE$ supplements.

Our Goals:

To improve the quality of early childhood care and education in child care centers and family child care programs
To decrease the turnover rate of child care providers/early education staff
To increase compensation of child care providers/early education staff without increasing costs to parents
To increase the educational level of staff providing child care
To maintain marketplace competition for better salaries
To integrate and build upon other education and compensation initiatives

Salary supplements are awarded based on the level of education attained and after verification of employment following a six month commitment period. Child care providers/early education staff meeting the following criteria are eligible to apply for a salary supplement.

Applicants must:

Work a minimum of 10 hours per week with children ages 0-5 in a licensed child care program
Make a wage of less than $14.45 per hour
Must have some formal child care credential or education beyond high school
Must work in an eligible or participating county

To see if WAGE$ is available in your area and for additional information contact:
Kris Nicholson, T.E.A.C.H. and WAGE$ Director, (785) 823-3343 or by email.

WAGE$ Turnover Fact Sheet
WAGE$ Compensation Fact Sheet