Families - Child Care Search

Your Child Care Search

The statewide toll free number to receive child care referral information is:
1-877-678-2548

Para la asistencia en encontrar asistencia infantil, llame nuestro número gratuito en 877-678-2548 y pedir un habla español especialista.

Before you begin your search for someone to care for your child, we recommend that you read through the information below. Knowing and understanding the different types of care available for your child, child care regulations and how to determine whether a specific child care facility is right for your child will help to make your search and your child’s experience in child care a positive one.

When you are ready to begin your search, please call our toll free number at 877-678-2548 where a referral specialist will be able to assist you. If you prefer to do your own search or must have information outside of our normal business hours, you may use our on-line child care search by clicking on the link to your county's region listed below, or by clicking on your telephone area code at the left. This is a secure site and any personal information you enter into the online referral form is held confidential. You may receive a follow up call or email from one of our referral specialists to ensure you received the results you expected. You may also receive an email from us giving you informaiton about a free online parent information resource, called Kansas Action and Information Center and the KANSAS Parent Central Newsletter, which you may unsubscribe to at any time. Non-personal information is used for statistical purposes and reporting to funders. There is no fee for you to use this online search feature nor to use our live referral services through our toll free line. We are here to assist you by whatever means you choose.

Checklist for Parents

Is this the right place for my child?

What types of child care are available?

State map of Kansas

Click on the link to your county's region below to start your search!

NORTH KANSAS SEARCH
Brown, Cheyenne, Clay, Cloud, Decatur, Dickinson, Doniphan, Douglas, Ellis, Ellsworth, Franklin, Geary, Grove, Graham, Jackson, Jefferson, Jewell, Lincoln, Logan, Marshall, Mitchell, Morris, Nemaha, Ness, Norton, Osage, Osborne, Ottawa, Phillips, Pottawatomie, Rawlins, Republic, Riley, Rooks, Rush, Russell, Saline, Shawnee, Sheridan, Sherman, Smith, Thomas, Trego, Wabaunsee, Wallace, and Washington counties.

NORTHEAST KANSAS SEARCH
Atchison, Johnson, Leavenworth, Linn, Miami, and Wyandotte counties.

SOUTH KANSAS SEARCH
Allen, Anderson, Barber, Barton, Bourbon, Butler, Chase, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Clark, Coffey, Comanche, Cowley, Crawford, Edwards, Elk, Finney, Ford, Grant, Gray, Greeley, Greenwood, Hamilton, Harper, Harvey, Haskell, Hodgeman, Kearny, Kingman, Kiowa, Labette, Lane, Lyon, Marion, McPherson, Meade, Montgomery, Morton, Neosho, Pawnee, Pratt, Reno, Rice, Scott, Sedgwick, Seward, Stafford, Stanton, Stevens, Sumner, Wichita, Wilson, and Woodson counties.

Choosing Quality Care

Quality Child Care: Recognizing and Supporting the Best for Your Children
All parents with children in child care want them to receive the highest quality of care. One definition of quality child care reads: “These programs or providers offer engaging, appropriate activities in settings that facilitate healthy growth and development, and prepare children for or promote their success in school.” How do you define quality child care? Most parents would agree with the above definition, but of course, as parents the care of your children is much more personal than that. Parents want their children in a safe environment, with a “warm” caregiver, in a program that provides lots of activities and learning opportunities for their children.

What Determines High Quality Care?
When considering a child care setting, parents naturally are looking for a warm and nurturing caregiver. But, equally important are two other types of measures that also indicate a quality environment.

The first is the process – what goes on in the program, their procedures, and activities and so on and, the second is the structure – the physical environment and the safety features. Both are equally important.

When you are considering a child care program, whether it is center-based or a family child care home, here are some questions that you could ask the programs (and yourself) that would help determine if the program provides high quality care.

What kind of program is provided?

Do they follow a curriculum?

How many children are in care? What is the ratio of staff to children?
If it is a center, how are the children grouped?

What kind of training and certification does the child care staff have?

Checklist for Parents

Is this the right place for my child?

Search for High Quality Child Care COMING SOON IN 2010!

KQRIS Star Rating Snapshot for Families

KQRIS Star Rating System for Kansas Child Care Programs
Choosing child care for your child should be a positive experience for your family and we can help. Through the Kansas Quality Rating and Improvement System (KQRIS), KACCRRA and your local Child Care Resource & Referral Agency is able to provide you with information about the quality of many of the child care programs you are considering.

When searching for child care online, by email, or by phone, be sure to look for and ask for programs that have a KQRIS Rating in your area. KQRIS Ratings offer a Star Rating (1 – 5 stars) based on the level of quality a child care program provides in five important areas of quality.

Coming Soon – “Child Care Online!” Photos and descriptions of child care setting.

Many families struggle when it comes to choosing the right child care program for their children; there are so many choices and so little time to screen, research, contact and visit potential programs. Families will soon have a new tool through the online search feature to help simplify their child care search – Child Care Online. Families who receive a child care referral that includes a KQRIS Quality Rated site within the pilot counties of Butler, Douglas, Saline, Sedgwick, Johnson, Leavenworth, and Wyandotte may have access to a “picture tour” of the facitity.

Star rated child care centers and family child care homes within these counties will have the opportunity to create an enhanced provider profile that includes photographs of their child care facility with information about the rich and varied opportunities they offer for children. Pictures, coupled with KQRIS Star Ratings will equip families with the information they need to make a fully informed child care choice.

Families will also be able to access the Early Learning Report about a program they are considering choosing for child care services. This report is a short summary of the strengths and areas for quality improvement in a child care program. The report outlines the points that programs scored in each of the quality components of the KQRIS Rating and provides the overall star level that a program received.

The Early Learning Report is like a “Consumer Reports” of child care and provides you with much needed information when making a child care choice that is right for you and your child(ren)!