Kansas Legislature sends policy loosening regulations on child care to Kelly’s desk

The Kansas Legislature narrowly approved extensive changes to regulations for child care facilities aimed at beginning to address a serious shortage of care in the state even as some have warned the changes will result in safety concerns.

The House voted 77 to 46 Thursday to send the bill to Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s desk. Though Kelly has said she wants child care to be a focus of her second term, it’s unclear if she’ll sign the bill.

According to Child Care Aware of Kansas, a chapter of a national organization aimed at promoting quality child care, the state needs more than 85,000 new child care slots to meet existing demand. Child care access and affordability has been a mounting crisis in Kansas and nationwide as affordable care represents an increasing barrier to working parents.

Proponents of the bill say the bill, which increases adult to child ratios and decreases training and education requirements for providers,is a first step toward expanding capacity.

They point to providers that have struggled to expand because of state regulations and say the result is more unlicensed providers.

“I’m not even pregnant yet and I’m on a wait list,” said Rep. Tory Blew, a Great Bend Republican, of her own struggles to find child care.

Rep. Brenda Landwehr, a Wichita Republican, said the changes were a necessary step to begin opening spots.

“All we did was lose day cares, we lost homes,” Landwehr said, referencing new safety laws the state passed in 2010 after a child died in a Johnson County facility.

“Let’s get the children out of the unregulated homes because if you think they’re not out there, you’re wrong.”

But opponents argue the bill makes child care less safe for Kansas providers and children. The combination of decreased training and increased capacity, they argue, is a recipe for disaster.

They argue that the state should slow down in its consideration of solutions to the child care shortage.

“There’s a lot we need to do in this industry, a lot,” said House Minority Leader Vic Miller, a Topeka Democrat. “This requires a fuller discussion and debate before we enact something so onerous here. We’re talking about our babies here and their care and their safety.”

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