News and Insights

Because the costs and complexities of opening a child care center are so burdensome, the community decided to incentivize people to start up new in-home facilities.

Across the state, Kansas communities are cobbling together a patchwork of public and private solutions to expand the supply of child care.

Behind the Scenes of the CCHC Network with Two Kansas Providers Providers at a large child care center and a small group home, both with decades of experience,  explain what they gained from the Child Care Health Consultation service. Kim Vanderfohe, director of Butterfly Funhouse

Juneteenth (short for June Nineteenth), which commemorates the end of slavery in this country, is considered one of the longest-running African American holidays.

To ensure that all children in ECE programs are receiving the best possible start in life, it’s imperative to recruit and retain staff who are culturally responsive and willing to engage diverse

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

We have always wanted an easier way for providers to find training — and more of it — wherever they are located in the Kansas City

Choosing between what’s best for their children and putting food on the table is a choice no parent should have to

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

USD 333 is now operating a fully licensed group day care home for children from birth through age 5, with two highly qualified providers on

Any parent of a young child will tell you child care is one of their single biggest considerations when it comes to accepting a job or staying with a

One of the most obvious ways to engage families is to involve them in day-to-day operations. You also want to make sure they have the opportunity to voice their concerns or

The practice of Design Thinking has emerged in the past 20 years as a popular tool for practicing creativity and producing

Policymakers can leverage public resources slated for child care to create a more equitable

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

By, Michelle Stover Wright, M.S., Evaluation and Research BUILD Initiative; Aisha Ray, Ph.D., Distinguished Fellow, BUILD Initiative; Sherri Killins Stewart Ed. D., Director of State Systems Alignment and Integration, Co-Director of State Services, BUILD Initiative Originally published in

By Tanya Koehn, Director of Family & Community Services, Child Care Aware of Kansas Child Care Aware of Kansas works alongside local communities to tackle the lack of affordable, quality child care by connecting them to the perspectives, information, and ideas they need to

United Methodist Health Ministry Fund and Child Care Aware of Kansas partnered to survey of child care providers — 29% of the state’s total — indicated facility operators were committed to extra cleaning, handwashing and temperature checks. More significant public health

By Teri Garstka, Associate Director, KU Center for Public Partnerships for the Spring 2021 Issue of Kansas Child magazine. It’s an exciting time to be a data enthusiast in Kansas!   We all want Kansas to be the best state for families to raise a child. To get there, we need

By Georgia Thompson, Senior Program & Policy Analyst, Nemours and Rebekah Duchette, Senior State Systems Specialist, Nemours for the Summer 2021 Issue of Kansas Child Magazine. Just as young children need supportive relationships as they grow and develop, adults also benefit from

By Julia McBride, Vice President, Kansas Leadership Center Originally published in the Winter 2021 Issue of Kansas Child Magazine If you aspire to launch more creative child care solutions, you know you need to get par­ents and child care providers involved. Don’t delay! Too many

By Travis Rickford, Executive Director, LiveWell Northwest Kansas Originally published in the Winter 2021 Issue of Kansas Child Magazine Today, our rural way of life looks a little different as we adapt to new challenges presented by COVID-19. Our work environments look different, and we

By Dr. Bradford Wiles, Associate Professor/Extension Specialist, Kansas State University Originally published in the Spring 2021 Issue of Kansas Child Magazine. The argument for access to quality, affordable child care has historically been: “It’s for the children!” This is a moral

Since launching the Child Care Aware of Kansas “Point-In-Time Data” feature on May 18, 2021, our website has received over 800 unique visitors specifically looking for information about the supply and demand of child care in Kansas