Kansas Begins Two-Year Project to Focus on Emergency Preparedness for Child Care

Arlington, Va. -- Child Care Aware® of Kansas was recently awarded the Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies as Resilience Hubs grant. Grant funding from Child Care Aware® of America will support a new two-year project designed to strengthen emergency preparedness efforts for children, parents, and child care providers and also enhance coordination with first responder and disaster response organizations. This project will create new trainings, resources, publications, and tools to benefit the 15,612 professionals that work in the early childhood field in Kansas.

The need for preparedness in Kansas is great. According to data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Kansas has experienced more declared disasters in the last decade than it has in the previous 50 years. From 2004 to 2013, FEMA recorded 29 disasters in Kansas. From 1953 to 2003, there were 27 disasters in total. Kansas ranks third in the United States for frequency of tornadoes, with 4,052 tornadoes occurring between April 1950 and November 2015. Earlier this year, Kansas had 50 tornado reports in one week, stressing the importance of preparedness.

Through this project, Child Care Aware® of Kansas will work with the four regional child care resource and referral agencies to provide emergency preparedness training opportunities for child care providers throughout Kansas.

The four regional offices include:

• Region One: Salina, Garden City, Hays areas, which serve 63 counties
• Region Two: Wichita area, which serves five counties
• Region Three: Topeka and Lawrence area, which serve 33 counties
• Region Four: Kansas City area, which serves four counties

Child Care Aware® of Kansas was chosen from a competitive 10-state proposal process. “The strength of Child Care Aware® of Kansas is evident,” says Andrew Roszak, Senior Director of Emergency Preparedness at Child Care Aware® of America. “Every day they connect parents with quality, affordable, and accessible child care while providing training, technical assistance and professional development opportunities for the early learning workforce.”

“Providers and families know Child Care Aware® of Kansas as a trusted resource, with nearly 10,000 referrals and more than 470 training events conducted in 2015 alone,” says Leadell Ediger, Executive Director of Child Care Aware® of Kansas. “We know that all too often, emergency preparedness, procedures, and protocols are thought of after an incident has occurred. With this new project, we aim to change that paradox and help prepare children, families, and providers for disasters.”

About Child Care Aware® of Kansas
Established in 1990, Child Care Aware® of Kansas is the State Network of Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R). Child Care Aware® of Kansas strives to ensure that families have access to affordable, high-quality child care. We lead projects, support trainings, and advocate for positive changes that impact the lives of children and families. Follow them on Twitter @CCAKansas and on Facebook at facebook.com/pages/Child-Care-Aware-of-Kansas/365217680186284. Visit ks.childcareaware.org to learn more about Child Care Aware® of Kansas.

About Child Care Aware® of America
Child Care Aware® of America is our nation’s leading voice for child care. CCAoA works with state and local Child Care Resource and Referral agencies (CCR&Rs) and other community partners to ensure that all families have access to quality, affordable child care. CCAoA leads projects that increase the quality and availability of child care, offer comprehensive training to child care professionals, undertake research, and advocate for child care policies that improve the lives of children and families. To learn more, visit usa.childcareaware.org. Follow them on Twitter @USAChildCare and on Facebook at facebook.com/usachildcare. Visit childcareprepare.org for more information on child care preparedness and this project.