SLOWINGDOWNTOSPEED UPA Multi-level Approach:Child, Family, Program, Agency, Community, System8A Publication of Child Care Aware ® of Kansas
Building an Early Childhoodgovernance system at the currentspeed and building trust withlong-term goals in mind.BY MELISSA ROOKERSince the pandemic began last March,the nation has been confronted with a fundamentaltruth our child care professionalshave always known — child care is essential.Parents on the frontline grapple with toughchoices when schools and child care providersshut down. Policymakers and employersacross the country are facing the stark realitythat our economy simply cannot functionwithout a strong early childhood care andeducation system.When the pandemic hit, Kansas had justcompleted a year of early childhood systemsimprovement planning. Our 2019 Needs Assessmentidentified eight crucial areas for improvementand used information from parents,providers, business leaders, and a varietyof community-based organizations to draftthe All In For Kansas Kids strategic plan. Itsets goals for achieving the vision that everyKansas child will thrive. Leaders from theThe pandemic required usto slow down our systemsimprovement work whilewe focused on mobilizing acrisis response.Kansas Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund,the Kansas State Department of Education,the Kansas Department of Health andEnvironment, and the Kansas Departmentfor Children and Families built a strong,collaborative team during the course ofthe project — relationships served us wellwhen crisis hit.The fragility of the child care system wasexposed by COVID-19. Parents shared experiencesthrough the Our Tomorrows Storybank— fear and isolation, impossible demandsto report to work even when schoolswere shut down, lost wages. All In For KansasKids webinars allowed child care providers togive voice to the challenges they face—difficultyfinding cleaning supplies and PPE, fearand uncertainty about how to adapt practicesto changing public health guidelines,lower attendance rates, and tough choicesbetween making parents pay for vacant slotsvs. absorbing the losses. Already low wagesand slim-to-nonexistent operating marginsintensified the financial stresses of child careproviders.The pandemic required us to slow downour systems improvement work while we focusedon mobilizing a crisis response. However,having the strategic plan in place hasallowed us to implement emergency effortsin alignment with our vision for the system.Using what we have learned from this experience,we are about to hit the accelerator.With funding through the Preschool DevelopmentGrant renewal, we have awardedQuality Improvement subgrants, are buildinga workforce registry to consolidate professionaldevelopment efforts in one place, andare preparing integrated data protocols tostreamline the use of data to inform practiceand make decisions.But we know this is not enough.We must reimagine and invest in childcare as public infrastructure. Child care is thepower grid enabling parents to work outsidethe home, which in turn provides businesseswith a reliable workforce. Most importantly,it helps children grow andlearn. It will take all of us to shiftmindsets and generate publicwill for the level of investmentneeded. We will continue toshare messaging that unifiesour voice, act on your behalf toenhance funding streams andpolicies, and learn from nationaland global thought leaders. Securingthe future we want for our childrenrequires each of us to be All In For KansasKids.Join the All In For Kansas Kids team atkschildrenscabinet.org.MELISSA ROOKERExecutive Director,Kansas Children’s Cabinetand Trust FundMelissa Rooker is the ExecutiveDirector of the Kansas Children’sCabinet and Trust Fund. Before joiningthe Cabinet, Melissa served three terms in theKansas House, focusing on children’s issuesand public education, and spent 15 years asa development executive at Clint Eastwood’sMalpaso Productions. Melissa is a KU graduateand lives in Fairway with her husband, Tom.•www.ks.childcareaware.org9
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