Kansas early childhood governance summit spotlights workforce, family voice and cross‑agency coordination

Melissa Schonberger, the early childhood systems specialist and panel chair with the Kansas Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund, opened the 5th annual governance summit and framed the meeting as a space to surface shared barriers and practical next steps for the state’s early childhood system.

Panel discussions pulled several steady themes into focus: workforce recruitment and retention, compensation and mental‑wellness supports for providers; deeper family engagement, including recruiting more fathers into family leadership roles; and closing coordination and communication gaps across state agencies and community organizations. Melissa Rooker, executive director of the Children’s Cabinet, reviewed a governance schematic used since 2019 and reminded participants that House Bill 2045 established the Office of Early Childhood, which “will formally open for business on July 1,” a transition the panel said it is working to make seamless.

Multiple presenters urged practical, cross‑cutting steps. Chelsea Schulte of Casido described CAPE, the workforce registry, and asked work groups to use the registry and the new individualized professional development plan to support retention. Speakers from KDHE and other agencies described roundtables and small‑center pilot data that will inform regulatory adjustments to reduce barriers for providers. Family representatives said they want materials and timelines that make participation feasible; Ellie, a family advisory council representative, said the council is developing a family leadership training to build families’ confidence to engage in system decisions.

Panel members agreed on near‑term products: a public event calendar and advocacy opportunities (including a March 4 home‑visiting advocacy day), a summit slide deck with links and contact information, and workgroup crosswalks so groups working on similar workforce or retention topics can share lessons rather than duplicate effort. The summit chair said a summary and slide deck with embedded links will be posted on the Children’s Cabinet website and shared with attendees.

The meeting closed with an explicit charge: continue the collaborative momentum by turning summit themes into coordinated actions at the work‑group level and by using the All In for Kansas Kids communications channels to amplify resources and events.