Reopening the state and access to child care go hand-in-hand

TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) – As Kansas businesses begin to slowly reopen, people are being called back to work, which means the demand for child care in the state is increasing.

Child Care Aware of Kansas helps families find licensed child care in their area. They say they have had an influx in calls recently and expect it to continue to rise.

“We do expect over the coming weeks we’ll see increased families reaching out for assistance,” said Reva Wywadis, Executive Director of Child Care Aware of Eastern Kansas.

Moving forward, child care facilities will have to adopt new health and safety procedures. Frequent hand washing and daily health check of kids will be expected; as well as regular cleaning and disinfecting of the child care facility. Following KDHE guidelines, for now, class sizes cannot exceed 10 children. It’s also important the both teachers and children stay home if they are showing any symptoms of being sick.

Wywadis says child care should not just be a problem for employees, but employers as well.

“Child care is such a critical piece of getting people back to work. It is part of the infrastructure needed for business to be successful,” explained Wywadis. “Having child care supply that meets the demands and the needs of working families is just so important.”

To find out more about child care in your area of Kansas, click here.