20 July 2023
GREAT BEND, Kan. (KSNW) — Barton County parents will have a new option for child care by next spring. Thursday morning, community leaders and politicians broke ground on the Advancing Barton County Childcare Center, which will be known as ABCC.
Great Bend Economic Development says the idea for ABCC Inc. came from conversations with businesses that said a shortage of child care was keeping parents from being able to work. The plan is to have two of the centers in Barton County offering affordable and accessible child care.
The plan got a significant boost in the past month when Governor Laura Kelly announced ABCC is getting more than $2.2 million from the Kansas Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund. The grant completed the funding for the first facility.
On Thursday, the governor joined others for the groundbreaking ceremony for the first center, which will be at Farmer’s Plaza at 10th Street and Kansas Highway 96.
Kelly says the grant money for ABCC is through the Child Care Capacity Accelerator program, designed to quickly get more licensed child care options for parents. The program awarded $43 million to 52 Kansas organizations to create 4,211 new child care slots.
“I’m proud to be a part of this groundbreaking ceremony as it represents many communities across the state that have now received the much-needed support to open their doors or expand child care facilities,” Kelly said.
“This funding has been a lead catalyst to moving this project forward, and it is crucial to our goals to make these new centers come to life and better support our businesses, families, and, of course, the youngest members of our community,” said Sara Arnberger, director of Great Bend Development, ABCC.
The first ABCC is expected to open in early spring 2024.