Governor Kelly announced that the Kansas Department of Health and Environment has provided over 50,000 COVID-19 comfort kits to child care facilities across Kansas through a partnership with Child Care Aware of Kansas (CCAKS).
Using CARES Act funding, kits containing essential items were delivered to these facilities to aid in ensuring the mental health, social development, early learning, and hygienic needs of Kansas children were met through the pandemic. Each kit contained early learning toys and books in addition to masks and hand sanitizer.
“These COVID-19 comfort kits contain essential…supplies necessary to help kids stay safe and healthy, books and other educational items to promote early learning and development, and comfort items to protect kids’ mental health and wellbeing during these uncertain times,” Kelly said.
KDHE he contracted with CCAKS as part of the Early Childhood Education Network project to help child care facilities address the challenges created by the pandemic that many providers were collectively experiencing–including supply shortages.
Over 27,000 kits were sent to facilities and home visiting programs in October 2020. The KDHE and CCAKS partnered again in December to deliver over 25,000 more to the 2,576 licensed child care facilities in Kansas.
