A new child care center in Douglas County that will offer services 24 hours a day is scheduled to open next fall.
The Community Children’s Center in Lawrence broke ground on its new early childhood center Thursday with the help of Gov. Laura Kelly.
The center will be renovated into a community center with an indoor play area, family resource center and a 24/7 child care facility inside of the Medical Arts Building at 346 Main St. in Lawrence. It’s expected to serve up to 130 children.
The project is supported through funding from the federal American Rescue Plan Act and almost $5 million in grant funding from the Kansas Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund.
This project is a chance to innovate and create ripples to strengthen early childhood throughout Douglas County with quality child care, said Kim Polson, executive director of Community Children’s Center.
“When we can care for children in a high-quality facility, we want to make sure they’re going home to an environment that is equally warm and welcoming and work together with families to create that positive experience,” Polson said at the groundbreaking. “We want to connect families to services and support as early as possible in their child’s life because we know those earlier opportunities and interventions can change the trajectory of a child and a family’s life.”
During the ceremony, Kelly said the “North Star” of her second term has been making sure Kansas is the best place in the country to raise a family.
“Expanding access to multipurpose community facilities like this one is a fundamental part of that commitment,” Kelly said.
Kelly said improving the quality and quantity of child care is one of her priorities because it doesn’t just benefit families but is a vital component of workforce development and economic growth.
“We are experiencing unprecedented levels of economic growth and job creation here in Kansas, and that’s great news. But unfortunately, not everyone who wants to take advantage of these new work opportunities is able to – not because there aren’t enough jobs – but because there’s not enough affordable child care,” Kelly said.
Almost half of working parents in America say that the number of hours they work is compromised by the lack of child care options, Kelly said.
With the child care capacity accelerator grant, Kelly said they have allocated more than $55 million through 67 projects in communities across Kansas to create over 5,600 more slots for children.
Business leaders know there is a significant deficit of child care slots within the county, said Hugh Carter, vice president of external affairs for the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce and a board member for the center.
“So not only are we going to be bringing desperately needed workforce back into the workplace, but in doing so we’re going to be providing high quality early care and education to their children, the next generation of workforce,” Carter said.
Will Averill, director of communications and development, said this groundbreaking was a new phase for the Community Children’s Center and unveiled a new logo to go with it.
“Our old logo served as a testament to our professionalism and commitment to early childhood education,” Averill said. “However, in our ever evolving world, we recognize the importance of not only upholding these values, but also embracing a spirit of playfulness and inclusivity.”
In an interview after the groundbreaking, Kelly said work has already started to help plan for child care needs that accompany Panasonic. Conversations with companies about providing child care for their workers start during negotiations, she said.
Reach reporter Sara Maloney at [email protected].
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