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________________________________________________________________________
*For Immediate Release: *
January 23, 2026
*Contact: *
Grace Hoge
[email protected]
*Governor Kelly Announces
Kansas Office of Early Childhood Inaugural
Annual Report Submitted to the Kansas Legislature*
*
TOPEKA* — Governor Laura Kelly and the Kansas Office of Early Childhood (KOEC) today announced that the KOEC’s inaugural Annual Report has been submitted to the Kansas Legislature.
“We are making Kansas the premier state to raise a family by building a comprehensive early childhood system that is transparent, efficient, and easier for Kansas families, child care providers, and businesses to navigate,” *Governor Laura Kelly said.* “Establishing the Kansas Office of Early Childhood was a foundational first step in this process. The inaugural Annual Report outlines significant progress toward building a more robust system and provides a pathway to set the Office up for long-term success.”
Once established on July 1, 2026, KOEC will unify over 20 early childhood programs into one central office, providing parents, providers, and communities with a single point of contact for programs and services supporting Kansas children. The submission of the Annual Report to the Kansas Legislature is statutorily required, pursuant to K.S.A. 75-7702.
Nearly 180,000 children under age 5 live in Kansas, and demand for early childhood services remains high, with 67 percent of young children living in households where all available parents are in the workforce. The establishment of KOEC represents a significant step toward simplifying access to programs and services for families, reducing administrative burden for child care providers, and strengthening accountability for public investments. Governor Kelly has appointed Christi Smith [ [link removed] ]to serve as the inaugural director of the office.
“This inaugural report reflects our commitment to transparency and continuous improvement, and it sets clear priorities for the work ahead,” *said Christi Smith, Acting Director, Kansas Office of Early Childhood.* “It also establishes a precedent for ongoing data reporting on what matters most so we can strengthen services, improve outcomes for Kansas children, and better support the families and providers who care for them. We’re excited to get this important work underway.”
As required by House Bill 2045 [ [link removed] ], the legislation that established KOEC, the Annual Report provides a transparent update on progress to date toward transitioning all programs to KOEC in advance of July 1, 2026, including early operational planning and first-year priorities as Kansas continues to build a more comprehensive early childhood system. The Annual Report is a crucial first step for Kansas in transforming the currently siloed components of the state’s early childhood landscape into a more efficient and effective system.
The inaugural Annual Report outlines recommendations for KOEC’s first year, system performance, and progress toward statewide early childhood goals. Recommendations for KOEC’s first year center on strategic planning to improve resource efficiency, internal organization, field-facing systems, communications, and purposeful collaboration across the early childhood ecosystem.
The inaugural Annual Report be found here [ [link removed] ].
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