A drop-in child care center that watches kids by the hour will open its newest location in Lenexa this summer.
Kids Inn Child Care Center, a daycare center that operates on hourly memberships, will open at 9870 Quivira Rd. It will also offer daily rates.
With one location already open in Springfield, Missouri, the goal of the daycare center is to fill gaps that other daycare centers that typically operate on a more morning and afternoon schedule leave open.
“We offer many services, from evening care (and) weekend care that parents often can’t find or struggle to find, because there are not many sites, especially in Kansas, that offer any type of weekend or evening care. So that kind of sets us apart,” Kids Inn owner Christina Ford said.
The business began in Missouri
The business opened its first location in 2022 in Springfield. Since then, Ford said they were looking at other cities to expand and a friend suggested Lenexa.
“(They) reached out and mentioned that the area could really use our model, just with the child care centers that were there now (and) the child care needs that they were seeing in the community,” Ford said.
The business is working with the city to develop the site, Ford said, which previously housed a Berkshire Hathaway KC Realty location.
Ford hopes to announce registration openings soon and have the center open by the summer, when child care needs for families can often be more acute.
The business aims at helping working parents
A Tennessee native, Ford said the area she grew up in had several drop-in daycare centers, but when she moved to Springfield there weren’t any near her.
“I knew what that felt like, as a parent, to be able to have a service you could rely on (and it) being able to be flexible to fit your budget,” she said. “Maybe I only (need) eight hours of care this week. I’m able to budget that in. I knew what that felt like for me as a parent, just the stress that it took away, knowing that if I had an emergency or I needed care, I had somewhere to take my kids.”
Ford said she was encouraged by the response from parents in Springfield who became her customer base. Hearing their stories, Ford said she wants to continue to fulfill that need in a new area.
“That’s what drives me the most, is just to be able to hear those stories from parents, understanding the need and understanding that we are seeing a child care crisis, and being able to just offer even more spots, just to to help with those numbers,” she said.
Lenexa officials happy with Kids Inn plan
In March, bth the Lenexa Planning Commission and City Council discussed a proposed special use permit for Kids Inn.
While some officials had questions about its proximity to a liquor store and a fence that will be installed to surround the building, they ultimately agreed it was a good idea and that more child care options were needed in the area.
The site previously struggled with occupancy and the daycare would bring positive activity to the area, Lenexa Planning Commissioner Ben Harber said.
When Ford and Kids Inn Director Kellee Fiscus told the city council that they would moving into the vacant building, Lenexa Mayor Julie Sayers responded positively.
“(We) love to see that,” she said.
An hourly daycare is “rare”
Of the 740 child care businesses in Johnson County, only one other one, KidsPark in Olathe, offers drop-in child care services, said Eldonna Chesnut, the division director of child care licensing at the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment.
“It’s somewhat of a challenge because you never know how many kids you’re going to have, and you never know how many staff you’re going to need,” she said.
Kids Inn plans to operate with a maximum of 45 children with ages ranging from six weeks to 12 years old, city documents say.
While there are child care facilities in Johnson County with openings, Chesnut said the need for infant care remains the biggest in the area.
“We’re always hoping that whenever a new center says they’re coming into Johnson County, we always encourage them to have an infant room or two,” she said.
Offering infant care was a big factor in coming to Johnson County, Ford said.
“You look at the numbers, and there’s just not enough spots for parents to take their infant,” she said. “We will allow for infants and some hourly care centers do not accept infants … We’re excited about that opportunity for parents.”
Kids Inn hopes to open this summer
The facility is currently in the site planning stage, Ford said, where they’re mapping out the building and getting permits.
The hope is that they’ll soon be able to open up registration and get word out in the community, Ford said.
“Once we get through the planning and development of the site and renovations, then we’ll be able to introduce ourselves to the community and our partnerships and our families and surrounding areas,” she said.
So far, everyone’s excited, Ford said.
“From the (Lenexa) planning development department and from the city, they’re very excited about our model because everybody understands now how much child care is a need, but (also) understanding that we’re still in (in a place) where we’re not having enough spots for children,” she said.
Other Johnson County child care news: How two child care centers are trying to meet growing demand in Shawnee
