By Dr. Ferrill Miller
On March 13, the JC Breakfast Optimist Club met at Jim Clark’s Chevrolet showroom to learn about child care needs in Geary County. Deb Andres, Geary County, K-State Research and Extension agent, shared information about the current status of child care in Geary County.
She stated that “there are 36,247 residents in Geary County; 4,799 of those residents are under the age of 6 years; 24% of the desired capacity for child care is meeting the potential demand and there are 1,783 child care slots needed as of March 12, 2024.
There is a group working on the ‘Why?’ and how to address the need for more child care in Geary County. Input from employers in business and industry, child care providers, employees, community leaders and others interested are invited to the Child Care Crisis Summit on Friday, March 22nd from 10:30 AM until 1:30 PM. The summit will be held at the Professional Learning Center located at 920 W. 6th Street in Junction City. Lunch will be provided at no cost. Registration is also free but closes on March 20th. Contact: Deb Andres at 785-238-4161.
During the session there will be presentations and brainstorming with attendees in the morning session. A summary of ideas will be pulled together with possible solutions in the afternoon.
The event is being sponsored by the Geary County Child Care Coalition; Live Well Geary County and Child Care Aware of Kansas.