Improving Access to High-Quality Child Care in Wyandotte County

The Family Conservancy announces the Start Young project. An innovative, collaborative approach to investing in the future of Wyandotte County.

The Family Conservancy, a nonprofit serving at-risk children and families throughout the Kansas City metro, announces the launch of Start Young. Start Young is a public-private collaborative designed to improve child care in Wyandotte County, increasing access to high-quality, full-day, full-year child care for working families.

Currently, Wyandotte County only has capacity to serve approximately 40 percent of working families with young children. Many of the programs that are available are not full-day, full-year programs. Further complicating the issue, even when parents can find high-quality care that meets their needs, many have difficulty paying for it.

Access to high-quality child care provides benefits to parents and children across Wyandotte County:

1. Allows parents to be gainfully employed so they have the resources to better support their families
2. Prepares children for success in school and life by maximizing the crucial period of early brain development

Evidence shows that investment in these areas increases workforce participation, high school graduation rates, and community health outcomes; while decreasing rates of abuse, neglect, early parenthood, substance abuse, and incarceration.

The Start Young 3-year pilot program is expected to impact 1,200 children in the first year. The funding for this project is provided by Kansas Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund through Communities Aligned in Early Development and Education (CAEDE), and matched 1:1 with funds from the private sector, including investments from: Buffett Early Childhood Fund, Wyandotte Health Foundation, Stanley H. Durwood Foundation, Olathe Wesleyan Church, Hall Family Foundation, and other pending and secured funders. Community partners who will deliver the project  include the Mid-America Regional Council, United Way of Wyandotte County, Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, and Child Care Aware of Kansas. In addition, sixteen Wyandotte County-based child care providers have been identified to participate in the project.

TFC will host a kickoff event to announce the project to the community on Aug. 15, 5:30 p.m. The event is open to the public and will be held at the Children’s Campus of Kansas City, 444 Minnesota Ave., KCK, 66101.