Child care is more than a service for families with young children. It is an essential part of a thriving community, supporting children’s development, helping parents participate in the workforce, and contributing to local economic growth. Yet, across Kansas, communities continue to face challenges in ensuring families have access to affordable, quality child care. 

To better understand these challenges and identify opportunities for progress, Community Sensing Sessions were held with stakeholders across Kansas. These conversations brought together community members, child care providers, educators, employers, and representatives from local organizations to share experiences, identify barriers, and discuss priorities for strengthening their local child care systems. 

While each community has its own unique circumstances, the conversations revealed common themes, as well as an important message: Building a stronger child care system requires collaboration, community investment, and a shared commitment to finding solutions. 

Strong Partnerships Are Making a Difference 

One encouraging finding from the sessions was the strong collaboration already happening in many Kansas communities. Child care providers, schools, businesses, community coalitions, libraries, health departments, and social service organizations are working together to support children and families. 

Communities are finding creative ways to expand child care access, connect families with resources, and strengthen support for providers. Examples include extended child care hours, transportation partnerships for school-age children, workforce development opportunities, new child care locations, and investments from local businesses and community partners.  Family support programs, home visiting services, early intervention efforts, and professional development opportunities are also helping communities respond to the needs of children and families. 

These successes demonstrate the value of local leadership and collaboration. When organizations share information, coordinate services, and work toward common goals, they can build on existing resources and identify opportunities that may be difficult to pursue independently. 

Child care [is] a community-wide concern.

Persistent Challenges Require Community Attention 

Despite these successes, stakeholders identified significant barriers that continue to affect families, providers, and employers. 

Access and affordability remain major concerns. Many communities have limited child care availability, particularly for infants and toddlers. Families may also struggle to find care during summer months, outside traditional business hours, or on a part-time, drop-in, or flexible schedule. Transportation challenges and limited options for children with special needs create additional barriers for some families. 

Workforce recruitment and retention continue to challenge providers. Finding and retaining qualified staff is difficult, particularly when wages, benefits, and working conditions make child care positions challenging to sustain. Staffing shortages limit the ability of existing programs to expand and can prevent new programs from opening. Communities also identified a need for substitute providers, additional training opportunities, mentorship, and stronger professional networks. 

Financial sustainability affects both providers and families. Child care programs face rising operational costs, significant start-up expenses, regulatory requirements, and the challenge of maintaining affordable rates while covering the cost of providing care. New facilities and expanding programs may struggle to reach financial sustainability without additional support. At the same time, families face financial pressures that can make child care difficult to afford, even when care is available. 

Stakeholders also emphasized the need for better communication and greater awareness of available resources. Families may not know where to turn for assistance, while providers and employers may be unfamiliar with programs, funding opportunities, and tax incentives that could help address child care challenges. 

These interconnected issues reinforce the importance of viewing child care as a community-wide concern rather than an issue for families and providers to solve alone. 

Businesses Have a Role to Play 

An important theme emerging from the sessions was the need for greater employer engagement. Child care directly affects the ability of businesses to recruit and retain employees, maintain productivity, and support employee well-being. When parents cannot find reliable child care, their ability to accept employment, maintain consistent schedules, or pursue career opportunities may be limited. These challenges can affect employers and the broader local economy. 

Stakeholders identified opportunities to educate businesses about local child care needs, employer-supported child care options, and available state and federal tax incentives. Partnerships with chambers of commerce, economic development organizations, and major employers can help bring child care into broader workforce and economic development conversations. 

By recognizing child care as an investment in their workforce and community, employers can become important partners in developing sustainable solutions. 

Turning Community Feedback Into Action 

The sensing sessions provided valuable insight into potential priorities for the coming months and years. Although specific needs differ by community, several opportunities emerged across the discussions: 

• Strengthen partnerships and communication. Build connections among providers, employers, schools, community organizations, and local leaders to improve coordination and resource sharing. 

• Support the child care workforce. Expand access to professional development, mentoring, networking, provider recognition, and opportunities to strengthen recruitment and retention. 

• Increase child care availability. Explore opportunities to recruit new providers, expand existing programs, increase infant and toddler capacity, and develop solutions that better meet families’ scheduling needs. 

• Improve resource awareness. Help families, providers, and employers understand available programs, financial assistance, training, and tax incentives. 

• Encourage community and business investment. Engage local leaders and employers in conversations about how child care affects economic development, workforce participation, and community vitality. 

These priorities offer a starting point for continued discussion and collaborative action. Lasting progress will require communities to build on their existing strengths while identifying practical, locally driven responses to their most pressing challenges. 

Lasting progress will require communities to build on their existing strengths while identifying practical, locally driven responses to their most pressing challenges.

The Power of Listening 

No two Kansas communities are exactly alike. What works in one location may not be the right solution for another. That is why listening to the people who understand their communities best is such an important part of strengthening the child care system. 

Community sensing sessions create opportunities for stakeholders to share their perspectives, learn from one another, and identify both challenges and possibilities. They also help ensure that future efforts are informed by local experiences and responsive to the needs of children, families, providers, and employers. 

The conversations across Kansas have highlighted both the challenges that remain and the commitment communities are already demonstrating. From building new partnerships to exploring innovative approaches to child care access, communities are working toward a future in which families have more options and providers have the support they need to succeed. 

A stronger child care system starts with listening, but it grows through collaboration and action. By continuing these conversations, strengthening local partnerships, and investing in community-driven solutions, Kansas communities can work together to create a more sustainable child care landscape—one that supports children, families, businesses, and the future of their communities. 

---