WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW)—Reno County’s child care task force is helping to open 11 new facilities to fill nearly 2,000 vacant spots.
KSN’s Derek Lytle toured one that had just opened and spoke with a consultant on that task force and the center’s director about how they are attempting to address the need.
According to the Kansas State Department of Education, Kansas is more than 80,000 spots short of meeting the state’s childcare needs. Heather Faulkner, a consultant with the Reno County Task Force, said they are making strides to reduce that number.
“It costs a parent in the state of Kansas more to send their kid to childcare, from 0-5 than it will be for them to get a four-child degree from Kansas State University,” said Faulkner.
She said they teamed up with local agencies and went to bat, asking for funding.
The local government supplied 6.5 million dollars, and later, the state provided 2.5 million dollars in additional funding.
Faulkner said child care is vital for parents to be able to make a living.
“I wouldn’t have been able to work had I not had childcare, so it’s really important that we’re bridging the gap between early care education systems and the school systems,” said Faulkner.
The task force chose to partner with local school districts.
Crusaders Corner, one of the new facilities, opened last month. It’s a renovated old church, and it is already nearly full.
Buhler Schools Superintendent Cindy Couchman said their parents rely on facilities like this one.
“It has to be affordable, it has to be accessible, it has to be dependable, because their work life depends on it, and their home life, and as you said, finances depend on that,” said Couchman.
They call this a step in the right direction but not a total solution.
“Even though we’re excited about the spots we’ve opened, the challenge is great,” said Faulkner.
Faulkner said the struggle is keeping these facilities open because it can cost the provider more than if they are paid to take care of the child. They are working on retention grants to address this problem.
Eight of the eleven centers are open, and they expect all eleven to be available by next fall.