Nearly half of Kansans live in a child care desert, and 21 Kansas counties don’t have any slots available at all. Owning my family child care has given me a front row view of the struggle families face to find safe, high-quality care for their children. I also know the uphill battle that early childhood professionals encounter while trying to support our clients. Is it possible to solve this problem?
We hear it all the time — there aren’t enough child care slots available to meet demand. This missing resource has a ripple effect on the ability to secure and maintain employment, the safety of our children, and the strength of happy, healthy communities.
Kansas can find solutions to the crisis of child care, but not through House Bill 2344. The bill was presented to the public as a fast-tracked answer to the daunting crisis of child care, but it was far from the solution Kansans deserve. Gov. Laura Kelly rightfully vetoed it. Its harmful ideas should not be resurrected.
Providers like myself need regulation review that will create clarity and promote our work while families receive care that helps their children thrive. More important, the children need learning environments that will help them succeed.
Solutions to this deeply rooted, multilayered problem will be found through a dynamic undertaking built by those closest to the issue and through evidence-based research. And our leaders must understand that fixing the child care crisis won’t be accomplished overnight and with a single bill that increases ratios and decreases staff training and space requirements. Legislative interference in this strips an early childhood professional from fully influencing the long-term outcomes of their work.
As a child care provider and advocate, I know there are many different thoughts on how to solve the shortage of available slots and ways to bring more people into the child care field. And that’s why I ask that all of us who are on the ground floor of this issue have a seat at the table. We understand the nuances that can steer this shared crisis in the best direction.
The way H.B. 2344 went through the legislative process did not allow all perspectives to be considered and inform changes that would best serve kids and providers in the long term. The bill did nothing to improve the pay gap for the professionals providing care. It lowered staff qualifications and developmental best practices while increasing the workload.
Through targeted conversations, our differences can, in fact, create the strongest outcome when we are allowed to participate together. Timely study and brainstorming are needed to determine the best balance of keeping kids safe and enabling providers to thrive too. I will be participating in the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s regulation review to stay informed and voice my preferences for our profession. I invite my colleagues and friends to join me in that process.
Through discussions and working to understand our differing points of view, real change is possible. Reviewing the current regulations is a necessary step toward growth. Honest assessment of some helpful elements of H.B. 2344 can propel us forward.
Early childhood development has a major impact throughout the lifespan of a person. Evidence shows that high-quality care in a child’s early years supports success later in school, lowers behavioral health needs, and may reduce other challenges as the person grows into adulthood. H.B. 2344 disregarded this evidence-based framework and instead expected providers to split their focus among more kids to bring in additional income.
The assumption of our willingness to take on more children in our facilities is based on an implied obligation that does not exist. The unspoken expectation that increased child-to-staff ratios can create more cost-effective access for parents and increased earnings for providers turns our children into commodities to capitalize upon. We can’t supply and demand our way out of a care issue.
According to the 501(c)(3) nonprofit referral agency Child Care Aware of Kansas, desired capacity (or the number of kids providers want to take in their care) is only 68,299, while licensed capacity (the maximum number of available slots based on current providers in the state) is 79,250. We need more providers to fill shortages, not rashly increasing child-to-staff ratios.
There is a solution to the child care crisis, and Kansas can carve that path. I’m grateful that H.B. 2344 will not be it. But I am hopeful that early childhood professionals, stakeholders and, most of all, families will work together, listening to one another to create bold, solid policy for our children’s futures.
About the author: Emily Barnes is the owner of Barnes Child Care in Olathe.
