The Child Care and Development Fund State Plan update is available at the link below (DCF website) for public comment. There will be public comment hearing in Topeka June 6th. Comments may also be emailed by June 11th to ccdfstateplan@ks.gov
Two items highlighted by KAC regarding the new state plan are below.
·
First, the state should consider using child care funding to subsidize the cost of fingerprint-based background checks for providers. These new fingerprint-based checks are an important step to reduce the likelihood of abuse and neglect of children in child care, and Kansas can support providers by offsetting the additional cost of these new requirements.
· Second, Kansas should do more to help families afford child care. The child care assistance program helps families afford the cost of child care tuition so that parents can work while children are in safe early learning settings. The number of children participating in the program fell by more than half in the last decade; child care assistance served fewer than 9,000 Kansas children in March 2018.