News and Insights

Originally published in the Winter 2023 issue of Kansas Child Magazine. The Child Care Gap Quality, accessible, affordable child care contributes to the prosperity of Kansas today and tomorrow.  This statement has never been more true than it is today — a conclusion supported by the

Originally published in the Winter 2023 issue of Kansas Child Magazine. Access to Quality Child Care When we ensure all families have access to quality child care options — regardless of their income level or where they live — we build the critical infrastructure necessary for

Originally published in the Winter 2023 issue of Kansas Child Magazine. Where is the Workforce? Everywhere you go these days, you hear a version of the same question: where is the workforce? In coffee shops, around kitchen tables, and in boardrooms across the country, people are

Originally published in the Winter 2023 issue of Kansas Child Magazine.  How Kansas Communities are Expanding Access to Child Care Many think the child care system is too broken to change. Kansas communities are proving  the naysayers wrong. Small incremental changes on the

Originally published in the Winter 2023 issue of Kansas Child Magazine.  Is Your Community Interested in Working to Build Child Care Capacity? We can help with funding and technical assistance. Child Care Aware of Kansas, in partnership with the Kansas Department for Children and

Originally published in the Winter 2023 Issue of Kansas Child Magazine. The most common challenge parents face when searching for child care is cost. In Kansas, the average monthly cost for infant care is $680 per child in a home care environment and $1,259 in a child care center. The

Originally published in the Winter 2023 issue of Kansas Child Magazine.  As providers, we are often encouraged to advocate and become involved in issues that affect the children and families we serve. For a busy family child care provider, what does that look like exactly? When I started

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

Over the past few years, the impact of COVID and record inflation rates — combined with systemic inequities and fragmented systems — have exacerbated stress and instability for children, parents, and caregivers.

Impactful support requires intentional and authentic family engagement practices. By Dr. Carla Whiteside-Hicks, Director of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and Early Childhood Programs, Kansas Department for Children and Families. Originally published in the Fall 2022 issue of

How We Can Build a Better System for Kansas Parents By Jessica Herrera Russell, Senior Communications Manager, Kansas Action for Children. Originally published in the Fall 2022 issue of Kansas Child Magazine. This past spring, the Kansas Legislature took a significant step toward

Source: ARP Child Care Stabilization Funding State Fact Sheets | The Administration for Children and Families (hhs.gov) The Administration for Children and Families released new data showing that child care stabilization funds provided in the American Rescue Plan (ARP) have served

By Andrew Hodgson, Nutrition Coordinator, Child Start, Inc. Originally published in the Summer 2022 Issue of Kansas Child Magazine. More than half of medium and large companies operate wellness programs, which can boost morale and productivity, support general health, complement culture,

Top 5 Policies to Promote Children’s Health in Kansas By Heather Braum, Health policy advisor, Kansas Action for Children. Originally published in the Summer 2022 Issue of Kansas Child Magazine. Policy choices in Kansas can change the health outcomes of Kansas kids for the better — or

How a Community Council on Child Care Can Help Families Succeed As parents and providers know well, each school year presents new challenges for child care programs. Providers are often forced to make difficult decisions about how to operate their business, care for the children

How the child care system can improve health today and tomorrow. By Georgia S. Thompson and Roshelle Payes, Nemours Children’s Health Early care and education (ECE) professionals are the original influencers. After parents and family, children look to the other significant adults in

An Innovative Grant/Loan Hybrid to Attract New Providers By Kelly Gourley, Executive Director, Lincoln County Economic Development Foundation. Originally published in the Spring 2022 Issue of Kansas Child Magazine. Like so many other communities across the state,  Lincoln County has

Kelly Davydov, Executive Director, Child Care Aware of Kansas. Originally published in the Spring 2022 Issue of Kansas Child Magazine. I’d be willing to wager that any working family with young children can tell you exactly how difficult it is to find child care right now. It’s even

By Bridget Banks, Child Care Health Equity Consultant Juneteenth (short for June Nineteenth), which commemorates the end of slavery in this country, is considered one of the longest-running African American holidays. It was officially declared a federal holiday in 2021. What Juneteenth

Bridget Banks, Child Care Health Consultant, Child Care Aware of Kansas. Originally published in the Spring 2022 Issue of Kansas Child Magazine. Recruiting and Retaining Culturally Responsive Staff in Early Childhood Education Settings For the first time in history, we as a nation are

Child Care Supply and Demand in Kansas: What to Know and How to Be Part of the Solution A child’s earliest experiences lay the foundation for lifelong learning, well-being, and success. Quality early care and education opportunities provide the nurturing environments and relationships

An Innovative Hub for Training and Professional Development in Kansas City By Jenny Brandt, Director of Early Care and Education, The Family Conservancy. Originally published in the Spring 2022 Issue of Kansas Child Magazine. It’s been 17 years since I started as an intern at The Family

By Linda K Smith, Director of Early Childhood Initiative, Bipartisan Policy Center. Originally published in the Spring 2022 Issue of Kansas Child Magazine. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed what any working parent in America already knew to be true – that the early childhood years hold

Child Care Aware of Kansas connects everyone with a stake in child care — families, child care providers, businesses, local and state leaders, and community members — to the information and ideas they need to take action. We work to empower communities to tackle the lack of

Concordia School District Provides Child Care Through Community Collaboration By Krystal Breese, Director of Curriculum/Assessment, USD 333 , originally published in the Winter 2022 Issue of Kansas Child Magazine. Early childhood experiences are the foundation for a student’s future

By Jen Bump, Founder of Bump Collaborative Consulting. Originally published in the Spring 2020 Issue of Kansas Child Magazine. American businesses today face extraordinary challenges locating and hiring skilled workers. In fact, 74 percent of hiring managers surveyed by the U.S. Chamber

By Mark Logan, Founder & Chief Collaborator, idealect. Article originally published in the Winter 2021 Issue of Kansas Child Magazine.  Innovation teams in corporate settings frequently attempt to conjure up the energy and unrestrained creativity of childhood. Using

By MK Falgout, Research Assistant for Early Childhood Policy, Center for American Progress. Article originally published in the Fall 2021 Issue of Kansas Child Magazine. For decades, America’s child care system quite simply has not worked. Families struggle to afford quality child care,

By Berni Howe, Lead Training and Technical Assistant Specialist, KCCTO and Tara Glanton, Training and Technical Assistant Specialist, KCCTO. Article originally published in the Winter 2021 Issue of Kansas Child Magazine. Elevating Provider Voices 2020 has been robust, with quick shifts

The Voices That Should Inform Change-Process In Our Child Care System By Peggy Kelly, Executive Director, Kansas Head Start Association. Originally published in the Winter 2021 Issue of Kansas Child Magazine. Long before COVID-19 completely redesigned our lives and view of what

By: Tracy Benson, President, Waters Center for Systems Thinking Originally published in the Winter 2021 Issue of Kansas Child Magazine A System Is a Collection of Related Parts Having recently been absent, Marisa enthusiastically returned to school. Her teacher, Ms. Vicky, as she did with