By james art WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW)—The Reno County Child Care Task Force is helping open 11 new facilities to fill nearly 2,000 vacancies.
KSN’s Derek Little visited one that just opened and spoke with a consultant from that task force and the center’s director about how they’re trying to meet the need.
According to the Kansas State Department of Education, more than 80,000 spaces are lacking in Kansas to meet the state’s child care needs. Heather Faulkner, a consultant with the Reno County task force, said they are making strides to reduce that number.
“It costs more for a parent in the state of Kansas to send their child to 0-5 kindergarten than it will for four children to get a degree from Kansas State University,” Faulkner said.
She said they teamed up with local agencies and started fighting, asking for funding.
The local government provided $6.5 million, and the state later provided $2.5 million in additional funding.
Faulkner said childcare is vital for parents to make a living.
“I wouldn’t be able to work if I didn’t have childcare, so it’s really important that we bridge the gap between early care education systems and school systems,” Faulkner said.
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’s almost full now.
Buehler Schools Superintendent Cindy Couchman said parents rely on facilities like this.
“It’s got to be affordable, it’s got to be affordable, it’s got to be reliable because their work lives depend on it and their home lives depend on it, and like you said, finances depend on it,” Couchman said.
They call it a step in the right direction, but not a complete solution.
“While we are excited about the locations we have opened, the challenge is great,” Faulkner said.
Faulkner said the struggle is to keep these facilities open because it can cost the provider more than if they were paid to care for the child. They are working on retention subsidies to address this issue.
Eight of the eleven centers are open and they expect all eleven to be available by next fall.
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