Kansas Office Early Childhood System Preschool Development Grant - Kansas Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B-5) Renewal Grant Project Abstract Kansas has made remarkable progress over the past several years towards strengthening our Early Childhood Education (ECE) system. We leveraged PDG B-5 grants, relief funding, and Child Care Development Funds (CCDF) to identify and design solutions to meet needs of Kansas children, families, and our workforce. We had an active state legislative session this spring, where the establishment of a single ECE state agency and the childcare shortage were prime topics. While session ended with little formally changed, the work done by ECE partners, agency leaders, and community champions to prepare for these efforts forms the foundation for this PDG B-5 proposal. Kansas is poised to focus additional investments in very targeted initiatives that will have a significant impact on our ECE system and support the needs of children, families, and the workforce. In this project, Kansas will address the needs of families in rural communities, families (and young children) with mental health care needs or special health care needs, and families experiencing transition points involving the ECE system. Kansas will also address workforce needs, focusing on enhanced professional development, rural childcare providers, provider mental health, and compensation supports. Kansas will continue addressing system-level needs such as distribution of resources – particularly to rural families and families with special health care needs – efficient workforce policies, practices, and tools, streamlined web-based resources, and improved early childhood integrated data. Kansas has identified 29 initiatives that will enhance state-level infrastructure efforts, scale workforce investment pilots, streamline and solidify our family engagement efforts, focus resources on meeting mental health needs, and leverage the strength of community-driven approaches to expand service reach. Examples of these initiatives include: In-depth reports focused on understanding the needs of key groups such as rural families. Care conferences to strengthen family-provider connections to design program improvements for children and families with diverse needs. Scaled and enhanced development for professionals to address the mental, behavioral, and health care needs of children and families. Future Fellows to train public-sector ECE workers on innovation and futures mindset. Child Care Zone pilots to create a community-driven model for addressing childcare. Health insurance stipends for childcare workers. We still have a tremendous amount of work to do to achieve our vision that every child thrives. With the most recent PDG Planning grant, we updated the Kansas ECE Needs Assessment and All In for Kansas Kids Strategic Plan. We identified the needs and articulated next steps. With this proposal, we continue our commitment to transform the Kansas ECE system into a more streamlined, effective, and sustainable partner for those who provide and receive services.
