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21 February 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Child care advocates say Wichita is nearing a child care crisis. They say some parents in the city and Sedgwick County have to stay home because they cannot find affordable, safe, quality day care.
On Tuesday, the Wichita City Council took action that would let Wichita home day care providers add more children.
The move after something City Council Member Beck Tuttle learned recently.
“I was on the Early Learning Child Care Workforce call and heard that Wichita was more restrictive than the state,” she said.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment allows up to 12 children in child care homes with two providers, but because of the zoning code, Wichita and Sedgwick County limit day cares in some zones to 10 children and one provider.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Scott Wadle, Metropolitan Area Planning Department director, asked the Council to change the zoning code to allow up to 12 children and two employees at home child cares.
“We simply looked at our regulations and said, ‘Whoa, we’re more restrictive. Does that cause a health concern or a land use concern?’ and the answer is no,” Wadle said. “That’s been the sentiment that we’ve received so far.”
He said changing the Wichita and Sedgwick County Unified Zoning Code would align it with KDHE regulations. But he also pointed out that the KDHE does have some restrictions based on the children’s ages.
Before the Council voted on the change, they heard about how much Wichita needs more child care.
Connor Hampton plans to build Center City Academy, a child care center near Kellogg and Topeka. He said he has been working with a group called the Wichita Coalition for Child Abuse and Prevention.
“Our group is working towards increasing the availability of quality affordable child care, but we all know that takes time,” he said.
He said Sedgwick County has potentially 16,000 children who need child care. The statistic comes from Child Care Aware of Kansas.
“This change today would allow for in-home child care providers to increase the number of children under their care by two spots,” Hampton said. “This change would create immediate impact on the number of children and families who do not have access to child care.”
Based on Kansas Department of Health and Environment data, the City of Wichita estimates that there are approximately 299 home day cares in Wichita.
John Rolfe, Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce president and CEO, said that changing the child care zoning code could mean almost 600 more child care spots available in Wichita.
“While that may not seem like a lot, it’s significant to the employers here in the community,” he said.
“I think we can all relate personally, those of us who have children or those of us who are in the workforce,” Rolfe said. “Business owners … know the impact that child care can have on the business community as well as personally to ourselves.”
He ended his comments by encouraging the City Council to approve the zoning change.
Council Member Tuttle agreed.
“This truly is an economic development issue,” she said. “It’s a workforce issue. Almost every meeting I’m going to in the community, we’re talking about child care in some way.”
Tuttle said she met a 23-year-old woman last week who had just opened a child care facility.
“She is a small business owner in our community, and she’s providing an essential service,” Tuttle said.
She hopes more individuals will become entrepreneurs and small business owners by providing early learning and child care.
After her comments, the City Council unanimously approved the zoning change. However, because it is the Wichita and Sedgwick County Unified Zoning Code, the measure will also have to go to the Sedgwick County Board of County Commissioners.