NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce CEO Debra Teufel notes that the Chamber is actively trying to get grant funding from the state to assist with the child care capacity issues in the county. It is keeping good talent from the community at this point.
"As we give them tours and they are trying to move to Hutchinson, and they suddenly learn that they can't find a slot for an infant in a local daycare, that becomes an employability issue for our businesses," Teufel said.
The collaboration on an application for the Kansas’ Children’s Cabinet Accelerator Grant will have multiple entities across the county joining together on one application.
"It's going to be, it looks like, a collaboration of about six potential child care expansions in the community," Teufel said. "Those are either school districts or private child care centers, not for profit child care centers across Reno County that all have some shovel ready plans, or nearly shovel ready plans of how to expand slots."
These centers, if they are able to get started, will be spread throughout the county.
"They are anything from Buhler investing in modular units that might stand up a new infant and toddler program at Buhler Grade School or at Plum Creek," Teufel said. "There's some potential for Central Christian to renovate a building to add some capacity. There's some potential in Haven for them to add a facility, either in Haven or Yoder for some new infant and toddler programs and then there's the possibility of Hutch Regional Healthcare System developing a center that could create a large number of slots."
The Hutch Chamber will serve as the fiscal sponsor for the grant as well as the administrator of funds should the application be selected. This is so that these funds are not commingled with any of the city or county money already allocated to other childcare infrastructure through ARPA funding.
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