Kansas lawmaker says child care is solution to job market

SHAWNEE, Kan. — Improving the local economy may start from the ground up.

One elected official is among those who believe investing in kids and their families will deliver business-related dividends. Complaints that employees are hard to recruit and retain are common across the United States.

U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kansas) helped promote the American Rescue Plan on Capitol Hill. She’s among those in Johnson County who believe a strong set of options for childcare bolsters an economy because it encourages parents to come back to the workforce.

$117 million came from that federal relief plan, which has roots in the pandemic era with $253,000 of that allotment designated to help entrepreneurs in the childcare industry get their businesses started.

At Happy Campers Montessori School in Shawnee, Amy Powers and her family purchased the school in March 2021, just as businesses were attempting their comebacks from the COVID-19 era.

They used their allotment of grant money to spruce up their school and double their staff size. Now, there’s a waiting list for new families and their kids at that school since they’ve grown to full capacity.

“We truly believe we need to pay our teachers a little better,” Powers said on Thursday. “This helps us keep good quality teachers when we can pay them a little more because of the crazy prices out there right now.”

“That’s an amazing return on investment, making sure people have a place they can take their kids while they go to work,” Davids said.

The Women’s Business Center in Johnson County has been training new investors who want to enter the childcare industry. That group cites statistics indicating Johnson County still doesn’t have enough childcare options to satisfy the growing need.

“If people have childcare they’re confident in, they’re at work more. They’re more productive at work, so it’s good for employers and good for the economy,” Judy Bumpus, an instructor at the Women’s Business Center, said.