By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The Child Care Task Force of Ellis County recently released data that broke down the number of needed child care slots by city.
As of Aug. 15, data from Child Care Aware of Kansas showed the following number of child care spots needed in Ellis County communities:
Hays — 114
Ellis — 109
Victoria — 4
Catherine — 21
Munjor — not available
Ellis County total — 430
Child care task force members acknowledged that interpreting these numbers can be challenging.
Workers coming into Hays from other communities and counties may seek child care in Hays.
Andrew Curtright, a board member of the Hays Area Children's Center, said this could increase the demand for child care spots in Hays.
Sarah Wasinger, task force facilitator, said, "Child care is a very personal experience for families. It is quite possibly one of the most important jobs and professions we have because parents want to make sure their kids are in a safe space when they are going to work."
The latest data also does not address the type of child care needed.
There has long been a higher demand for infant care than care for older children, and Wasinger said she thinks the Child Care Aware numbers may reflect this need.
Until a recent regulation change, a child younger than 18 months old was considered an infant. The new regulations will classify an infant as a child 12 months old or younger.
More adult supervision is required for infants than for older children. Caring for an infant can decrease the number of children an in-home child care provider can care for. For this reason, some in-home providers do not accept infants or must limit the number of infants they care for.
When the child care center in The Grove addition opens in Hays, 75 additional child care slots will open. The project is scheduled to be completed in summer 2025.
If all the current centers stay open, that would bring the number of centers in Hays to 11 in 2025. The number of licensed child care homes in Hays has increased from 64 homes in 2022 to 68 in 2024.
The child care gap has been cut significantly since 2022. As of Aug. 15, the child care capacity in Hays increased from 772 slots to 1,096 slots.
One of the most significant jumps was in slots for school-age children. According to Child Care Aware, there were no school-age children programs in Hays in 2022. Now, there are two with a capacity of 160 children.
The Ellis school district is also working on a partnership to open more child care slots in its community.
Victoria's Aug. 15 data only showed a need for four child care slots. However, the Victoria Community Coalition has been in talks with local child care providers to move an existing in-home provider into St. John's Place.
The former nursing home is being renovated. Part of the building will be used for senior housing. The Ellis County Historical Society also plans to use a portion of the building for a satellite museum.
Victoria has no child care centers but has four in-home providers.
Munjor reported one in-home child care home, and no data was available on Catherine.
Melissa Schoenberger of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment said the state has seen an increase in unlicensed care.
She said these people are difficult to identify because the department is usually unaware of an unlicensed child care provider until a complaint is made.
She asked the child care task force if they would focus some of its education resources on informing parents about what questions to ask providers and how to choose a licensed provider.
Statutes recently changed that would allow some providers to care for more children. Schoenberger said that could also affect the available slots.
However, task force members noted that not all providers choose to operate at capacity.
If you are looking for child care, you can access the state referral system through Child Care Aware by clicking HERE.
The child care task force will continue its professional development series for providers at 6 p.m. Nov. 14 at the Rose Garden Banquet Hall. Michael Berges will present a session on financial planning and business support.
Free fingerprinting for providers will be offered before the development session at 6 p.m.
The next child care task force meeting will be at 4 p.m. Oct. 30 at the Hays Welcome Center.