From Johnson City to Johnson County, Kansans need child care. At Child Care Aware of Kansas, we (and anyone who visits the data page) see this plainly in the data. On top of that, we’ve heard – and continue to hear – from parents and caregivers across the state that there is a lack of affordable, accessible child care. The effects of that shortage don’t stop there, as difficulties finding and securing child care make it difficult for parents to work, creating ripple effects throughout the workforce, economy, and state.
One of the reasons the child care shortage exists – though there are many – is that it can be difficult and costly to set up a child care operation. For help navigating through the barriers that pop up along the way, Kansas has formed the Child Care Go Team. There will be more information to come as the team gets developed, but for now, here are the top reasons you might want to contact the Go Team.
Your community needs child care!
The Community Outreach and Engagement teams are best situated to help with ongoing planning and capacity building work, the Go Team coordinator works hand-in-hand with them. Whether your community is already engaged in capacity building efforts, or still needs to form a coalition, the Go Team coordinator will connect you.
You have experience and/or technical expertise to share!
Solving the child care shortage is going to look different for each community, as each community has unique needs and visions for the future. If you’ve been working on building child care capacity, the Go Team would love to hear your experience. The Go Team is interested in hearing of past difficulties and successes to gather lessons-learned and make sure we are aware of all existing resources.
You’re a private individual/organization who wants to get involved.
The child care crisis has been decades in the making, and needs an “all-of-the-above” approach to fix it. If you recognize the need for child care and want to contribute, but don’t know how to, the Go Team coordinator will help you join local, regional, and/or state-level efforts as appropriate.
You have questions!
Have questions about any of the above? Please email the Go Team coordinator to find a time to find the answers! You can also learn more online here.
Contact us at: communitysupport@ks.childcareaware.org
