Kansas waives child care license fees through 2025 • Kansas Reflector

TOPEKA — Kansas plans to continue waiving child care license fees for another year by tapping into federal pandemic relief aid.

Gov. Laura Kelly announced Monday that the state would cover the cost of licenses, background checks, fingerprint fees and license renewals until 2025 or until funds are exhausted. The state has been covering the fees for the initial and renewal license since 2021.

“I am committed to expanding access to affordable, quality child care options for children and families in Kansas,” Kelly said in a news release. “These funds provide continued support for child care providers by removing financial barriers.”

A child care facility license costs $75, plus $1 for each child that can be cared for at the facility. Grace Hoge, a spokeswoman for the governor, said the Kansas Bureau of Investigation charges $57 for a background check and fingerprinting.

To cover the fees, the state tapped voluntary funds from the Federal Child Care Development Fund. To extend the fee waiver, the state will utilize funding from the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief program. Funding is administered by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, which is responsible for child care licensing, and by the Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund, an organization created by the Legislature in 1999 to oversee Tobacco Settlement spending to improve the health of Kansas children .

“These additional funds, and Governor Kelly’s commitment to provide them for child care facility licensing, will go a long way toward ensuring potential and current child care providers can continue the important work of creating and sustaining quality child care options for Kansas families,” KDHE said Secretary Janet Stanek in a press release.

Childcare providers will still have to pay fees from local governments.