Infant/Toddler Recruitment Project

There is a great need for additional child care available for infants and toddlers in Kansas as there are more young children needing care than there are spaces available. 

There are two main goals for this project: 

• To increase the number of available slots for infants and toddlers
• To increase the quality of care provided to the children

Eligible applicants:

• Operate a licensed child care facility in Harvey County
• Agree to provide care for additional infants and toddlers (within licensing ratios)

Participants receive:

• Grant funds to:
• renovate their child care home or center
• hire additional staff or help or
• purchase equipment necessary to care for additional young children.
• One-on-one  coaching and support from an Infant/Toddler Specialist
• Environmental Rating Scale observations to heighten awareness of improvements needing to made to their child care site and concerning their professional development.

Providers are required to attend 24 hours of core knowledge training which allows for increased awareness for how to care for the additional infants and toddlers as well as the children they currently serve. 

Benefits for families:

• Opportunity to utilize new and improved developmentally appropriate equipment
• Increased quality care through core knowledge training received by the child care provider
• Ages and Stages screenings to determine if children are falling behind in their developmental growth. 
• Access to an Infant/Toddler Recruitment Specialist

Additional information about the project:

The Kansas Early Learning Collaborative (KELC) awarded Harvey County the Infant/Toddler Recruitment Project Grant.  This opportunity is funded through the Kansas Children’s Cabinet.  Six partnering agencies are involved in KELC:

• Kansas Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (KACCRRA)
• Kansas Association for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (KAIMH)
• Kansas Children’s Service League Healthy Families (KCSL HF)
• Kansas Division for Early Childhood (KDEC)
• Kansas Head Start Association (KHSA)
• Kansas Parents as Teacher Association (KPATA). 

The Infant/Toddler Recruitment Project is a yearlong project and is only available to Harvey County provides at this time. 

For more information about the opportunity in Harvey County, please contact Amber Ives at Child Start, Inc.

For more information about the KELC partnership or the Infant/Toddler Recruitment Project in general, please contact Joni Breidenthal at KACCRRA.