Issues: Early Childhood
As the Education Governor, Governor Kelly has made child care and early education opportunities affordable and abundant, fully funded public schools, and made higher education accessible, effectively preparing students for their future in Kansas’ workforce. Governor Kelly has provided additional support to early childhood educators and expanded public-private partnerships that will make our child care system more sustainable.
She is committed to supporting working families by expanding access and affordability to early childhood.
Highlights:
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Today, there are more licensed child care slots in Kansas than ever before.
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The state’s licensed child care capacity continues to increase, and more than $96 million has recently been allocated to create over 6,200 additional slots in the coming years.
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Governor Kelly has led efforts to strengthen cross-agency collaboration, increase supports for the early childhood workforce, and update outdated regulations that limited access to care — all vital to ensuring that Kansas is adequately prepared to address the child care needs facing children, families, and local communities.
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Governor Kelly has secured more than $469 million in federal, state, and private funding to expand the access and affordability of high-quality early childhood programs. These funds have been used to expand slots for children and families, sustain child care businesses, provide financial support to providers, and fund the construction of new facilities.
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The governor has led efforts to pass $30 million in new tax credits to offset child care costs for working families over the next five years.
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Governor Kelly worked with the Kansas Legislature to expand the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program statewide, allowing all Kansas children aged birth through five to receive free books every month until their fifth birthday.