United Methodist Health Ministry Fund

Grateful for those who joined us today as the governor signed SB 82.

This bill will make the state's Child Day Care Assistance Tax Credit simpler, more generous and easier to use.

Thanks to this bill, the changes will increase the value of the employer child care tax credit, raise the annual cap credit and include a three-year carry forward, and expand eligible uses to benefit more families.

These updates will allow employers to strengthen the local child care supply, support workforce participation and contribute to a more stable economy.

Thank you to the governor and legislators who made this happen. This is a great win for child care in Kansas!

(Official photo from the governor's office coming soon!)

We had an incredible time at our annual awards ceremony last week. Thank you to everyone who attended and helped celebrate this year's award winners!

🥇Dr. Robert Kraft received the Kim Moore Visionary Leadership Award

🥇Kelly Davydov, of Daydelys LLC, and Dr. Jennifer Francois, of Kansas State University, received the Janet Sevier Gilbreath Special Project Recognition Award

We had such a great time connecting, learning and sharing with others at our recent Healthy Congregations retreat!

🎙Our newest episode of the Pioneers in Health podcast is now available!🎙

In this episode, we chat with Sherman Smith, editor in chief of the Kansas Reflector.

He shares how his love for news began at a very young age. He would arrive at school early and use the time to read the newspaper in the library.

“I was one of those weird kids who was really interested in current events and paid attention to the news,” he said.

He begged his mom for a subscription to Newsweek. When he went off to college at Emporia State University, he got a job as a sports reporter for the college newspaper. And, thus, his career in journalism began.

🔊LISTEN NOW:
https://healthfund.org/a/pih-sherman-smith/

The Health Fund was honored to recognize Dr. Robert Kraft with the Kim Moore Visionary Leadership Award this week. He was honored for his extraordinary commitment to advancing health equity and strengthening rural health care in Kansas through partnership, vision and action.

This award, named in honor of our founding president, honors one individual whose leadership has had a positive effect on the health of Kansans.

Dr. Kraft embodies the spirit of this award. For more than 25 years, he has helped shape the future of family medicine in Kansas through clinical excellence, innovative leadership, and an unwavering commitment to patient-centered care.

Congratulations, Dr. Kraft, and thank you for the difference you make!

The Health Fund was honored to recognize Kelly Davydov, of Daydelys LLC, and Dr. Jennifer Francois, of Kansas State University, with the Janet Sevier Gilbreath Special Project Recognition Award this week at a special ceremony in Hutchinson.

This award, named in honor of our first board chairperson, recognizes one outstanding project from among all funded projects.

Kelly and Jennifer were honored for their commitment to data-driven research, meaningful stakeholder engagement and demonstrated impact on a system that serves Kansas families and children.

The Health Fund partnered with them to take an honest examination of why too few child care providers participate in the Child Care Assistance Program, contributing to only 7.4 percent of potentially eligible children participating. Access to affordable, high-quality child care is essential to the well-being of Kansas families.

Their efforts led to developing clear, actionable direction and led to the formation of a Governor’s Office advisory group that was focused on improving the child care subsidy system. A final report was then released with actionable recommendations.

Those recommendations are now being incorporated into the Office of Early Childhood’s transition planning and directly contributed to the passage of legislation this spring that will modernize the child care subsidy management and payment system, which should increase participation of families and child care providers in the subsidy program.

Congratulations to Kelly and Jennifer, and thank you for helping improve the lives of Kansas families!

“When families cannot find or afford child care, parents are forced to reduce work hours or leave the workforce entirely, creating economic stress for families and workforce challenges for employers,” said David Jordan, president and CEO of the Health Fund.

Thank you to the Kansas Reflector for covering this new law enacted by Governor Kelly and the Kansas Legislature. It will strengthen access to child care in Kansas.

New Kansas law expands tax credits for employers supporting child care services • Kansas Reflector A new Kansas law expands tax credits for employers paying for child care services or contributing to community-based child care services.

Kansas employers routinely identify child care as a major barrier to hiring and retention.

However, only a small handful have taken advantage of the state’s Child Day Care Assistance Tax Credit to expand child care options due to the statute being overly complex, narrowly tailored and difficult to navigate.

We are thrilled that Governor Kelly and Kansas legislators approved revisions to the statute that will make it simpler, more generous and far more useful.

The changes increase the value of the employer child care tax credit, raise the annual cap credit and include a three-year carry forward, and expand eligible uses to benefit more families.

These updates will allow employers to strengthen the local child care supply, support workforce participation and contribute to a more stable economy. This is a great win for child care in Kansas!

➡LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BENEFITS:
https://healthfund.org/a/wp-content/uploads/Child-care-tax-credit-Final.pdf