05 Jun Local Child Care Task Forces named recipients of State Childcare grant
The McPherson County Community Foundation (MCCF) and the Marion County Child Care Task Force have been selected as recipients of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s (KDHE) and All in for Kansas Kids Child Care Zones grant.
The initiative is funded by a federal Preschool Development Birth through Five (PDG B-5) Renewal Grant, awarded to the state of Kansas in 2024 and administered by the Kansas Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund.
The grant will support both organizations’ efforts to improve child care access and quality in McPherson and Marion counties.
According to KDHE, Round One recipients of the Child Care Zones grant were chosen through a highly competitive application and interview process. Each awardee presented a unique, regional strategy for addressing child care availability and quality. McPherson and Marion counties were among four awardees selected in the first round.
A key requirement of the program is regional collaboration. Betsy Davis, director of community services at MCCF, said the partnership with Marion County developed naturally.
“Marion County made sense because of our proximity,” Davis said. “I met Tristan [Cope] during the child care accelerator grant process, and we realized how similar our child care challenges are.”
Tristan Cope, chair of the Marion County Child Care Task Force and a family and youth development agent with K-State Research and Extension – Chisholm Trail District, worked closely with Davis throughout the grant application process.
“We’ve been looking at what’s worked in other regions and how we can adapt those strategies for our counties,” Cope said. “Right now, one of the biggest issues is the lack of infant and toddler care.”
Cope noted that infant and toddler care is often expensive for both families and providers, creating a barrier to sustainable service. Retention of qualified child care providers and staff is another shared challenge across both counties.
By collaborating with KDHE through the Child Care Zones project, Cope and Davis hope to build a long-term, high-quality child care infrastructure and create a model that can be replicated in other Kansas communities.
Further details on grant-related projects will be announced at a later date.