Investing in Tomorrow: Why Businesses Must Be Part of the Child Care Conversation

When we started planning Investing in Tomorrow: A Business Conversation on Child Care, our goal was to bring people together who may not always be in the room and create space for an important conversation. What we experienced was exactly what we hoped for and more.

Gathering to Grow

On July 29, 2026, Rice County welcomed business leaders, community partners, and advocates at the Rice County Business Summit in Sterling, Kansas, for a conversation centered around one important message: child care is an essential part of our workforce infrastructure, and businesses have an important role to play in strengthening it. As communities across Kansas continue to navigate workforce challenges, we know that access to quality child care plays a direct role in whether employees can enter the workforce, remain in their careers, and help businesses grow. Child care does not only impact families—it also impacts economic development.

One of the biggest takeaways from this gathering was the importance of ensuring that businesses understand they have a role in this conversation. Employers are impacted by child care challenges every day through recruitment, retention, absenteeism, and employee satisfaction. But just as they experience these challenges, they also have an opportunity to help build solutions that benefit their employees, their businesses, and their communities.

Support from Child Care Aware of Kansas

We were incredibly grateful to have Child Care Aware of Kansas join us as a presenter for this event. Their support helped make this conversation possible, and their expertise brought valuable resources to the table that demonstrated practical ways businesses can become part of the solution.

Amanda Poyser with Child Care Aware of Kansas shared information about new child care tax credits and the opportunities available to support employers and communities. Understanding these resources is an important step for businesses looking for tangible ways to support their employees while investing in long-term child care solutions.

As a licensed child care resource and referral program, Child Care Aware of Kansas continues to be a valuable partner for families, providers, employers, and communities across the state. Their ability to connect people with resources, provide guidance, and help communities better understand their child care landscape makes them an important partner for employers who want to engage in this work.

Rice County, Investing in Tomorrow

Here in Rice County, we have been working to create long-term solutions through partnerships like the Rice County Childcare Endowment with the Rice County Collective. But we know lasting change does not happen through one organization or one initiative—it happens when businesses, community organizations, child care providers, and local leaders come together around a shared goal.

The conversations that happened during Investing in Tomorrow were some of the most encouraging moments of this work so far. Business leaders shared challenges, asked thoughtful questions, and began exploring what partnership could look like moving forward. Those conversations reinforced exactly why this event mattered.

This event was not about having every answer. It was about bringing the right people together to continue asking the right questions, identifying opportunities to work together, and helping businesses see the important role they can play in building stronger child care systems.

When we invest in child care, we invest in families. We invest in businesses. We invest in the future of our communities.

And that is exactly what Investing in Tomorrow is all about.

---