The Child Care Crisis in Greater Kansas City: Why It Matters to All of Us
Child care is more than just a place for kids to be while parents work — it’s where children begin to learn, grow, and thrive. It’s also a critical part of our local economy. Yet across Greater Kansas City, child care providers are struggling to keep their doors open, and the consequences are felt by families, workers, and the community at large.
Listening to the People Who Care for Our Kids
At The Family Conservancy, we’ve spent decades building strong relationships with child care providers across the region. During the pandemic, we increased our support, hosting virtual gatherings and checking in regularly to understand the challenges providers faced. Today, we continue this work because the stress on child care is not going away.
In Summer 2025, we gathered input from over 400 providers, including family child care homes and larger centers. We asked them about the biggest barriers they face and the risk of having to close their doors. What we learned is concerning — and it affects us all.
Staffing Shortages Leave Families Waiting
Finding and keeping qualified staff is the number one challenge for providers. Many centers struggle to hire enough teachers, and even when qualified applicants apply, some never show up for interviews. This is especially true for infant care, where more than half of providers maintain waitlists. Parents looking for care for their youngest children often find themselves on long waiting lists—or with no options at all.
One local provider explained, “We continue to have significant challenges meeting increases in rent, higher payroll to attract employees and maintain an equitable pay scale – our cost for liability insurance has tripled in the last 18 months. And raising rates isn’t really an option.”
Child Care Businesses Are at Risk
The number of child care providers at risk of closing has grown sharply. Our survey identified 22 providers who may close in the next year, putting about 675 child care spaces in danger. For families, this could mean losing a trusted place for their children and potentially having to leave jobs if no care is available.
Access and Affordability Challenges
State subsidy programs help families afford child care, but not all providers accept them. Family child care providers—who often offer flexible hours and lower costs—are less likely to take subsidy payments, creating barriers for the families who rely on them most. Even providers that accept subsidy are often at full capacity, leaving families without options.
As one provider shared, “We are enrolling children, but we are only enrolling children aged 18 months to 5 years old. It is very hard for us to keep infant teachers. It’s become very difficult in the child care field to have teachers who work in the infant room actually stay.”
Why This Matters to Everyone
This isn’t just a problem for child care providers—it affects our whole community. Without enough child care spaces, parents may have to leave the workforce, local businesses may struggle to find employees, and children miss out on critical early learning opportunities. Supporting child care strengthens families, supports the economy, and gives every child the chance to thrive.
How We’re Providing Solutions
At TFC, we believe the expertise to create solutions to the child care crisis already exists within our own community – with the dedicated caregivers who nurture young lives every day. That’s why we’re partnering with child care providers to create lasting solutions together.
One of the ways we’re invested in child care providers is by offering business coaching, professional development, and other resources that allow early care and education professionals to transform their programs – like Angela Manning Glass who nearly went from closing her doors to revamping and rediscovering her passion for her business.
As Angela shared, “The Family Conservancy stepped in and gave me hope for us to better our business. Although we’ve only been in the program for a year now, I feel like a new person — or maybe just my old self. Child care is my passion and has been for years.”
Angela’s transformation is just one example of what’s possible when we support those who are nurturing young lives. Every child care provider we partner with brings us one step closer to a Kansas City where every child has a chance to flourish and every caregiver has the support they need to thrive. The solutions to the child care crisis aren’t somewhere waiting to be discovered – they’re right here in our community, ready to offer their feedback and support. Together, we can shape a better future for Kansas City.
How You Can Help
TFC is using these findings to guide programs and advocacy efforts, but we need the community’s support. You can help by:
- Advocating for policies that make child care more sustainable and accessible. Sign up for our advocacy alerts.
- Supporting our work to make early education and care more accessible.
Every child deserves a strong start — and every family deserves the support to make it possible. Together, we can give every child a foundation to flourish.