Each week during the 2024 Kansas legislative session, we will provide Johnson County lawmakers the opportunity to share their thoughts about what is happening in the state capitol.
Below is a submission from Democratic Sen. Dinah Sykes, the Senate Minority Leader, who represents Senate District 21 covering parts of Lenexa, Overland Park and Shawnee.
Republican Rep. Chris Croft of Overland Park and Democratic Rep. Nikki McDonald of Olathe have also been asked to submit columns later this week.
The views expressed in each Capitol Update are solely those of the lawmaker.
We all work as hard as we can to do the best for our families and keep our kids safe. But because of the high price and scarcity of child care, too many Kansans can’t afford good quality child care and are forced to leave the workforce.
Kansas’s child care crisis doesn’t just hurt our families, who can’t afford the care they need. It also hurts our businesses, who can’t hire who they want because there’s not enough care options. And it disproportionately affects women, who are often forced to decide between staying at home and pursuing a career or education they are passionate about.
Child care as economic development
We need to think of child care as a necessary part of economic development.
Businesses across Kansas are struggling to find workers and are too often being forced to decrease hours or slow growth. Increasing access to child care has been proven to help employers attract better job candidates, retain quality employees and create a diverse, engaged workforce.
As state lawmakers, there isn’t one magic bill we can pass that will solve the child care crisis, but our focus should be on investing more resources in programs that help make child care more accessible for families.
Give Kansans back more money through child tax credits
First, we’ve got to put more money back into Kansans’ pockets.
We introduced a bill (SB 264) to increase the existing state Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit from 25% of the federal credit to 50%. This would directly help parents address the cost of child care.
Another bill (SB 436) that we’re supporting creates a new state child tax credit. This bold proposal would give all Kansas parents and caregivers between $25 to $600 for each child back on their tax returns, and is estimated to help around 647,000 Kansas kids.
Make it easier for child care providers
Second, we’ve got to eliminate red tape.
The governor is proposing to unify Kansas’ early childhood services into the Office of Early Childhood. Under this proposal, parents, businesses and child care providers would no longer have to navigate the maze that is our current system.
Centralizing our early childhood services will reduce barriers that currently exist due to the system operating across multiple state agencies.
GOP leaders are standing in the way
Any of these three proposals would be a game changer for children, families, and our economy.
Unfortunately, Republican leadership appears to be taking us in the wrong direction. Last month, Republicans on the Senate Education Committee hijacked budget discussions to drastically cut funding for child care.
We’ve got to do better. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a Democrat or Republican, we all know someone who has struggled to afford child care.
Kansans want action, and doing will put our state’s economic future at risk. It won’t happen overnight, but there’s still time this session to make progress.
I’m ready to get to work to address our child care crisis. Safe, affordable child care is a win-win for parents, children, and our economy.
