Child Care Aware of Kansas wins WINGS honor for protecting child care slots

Child Care Aware of Kansas earned an Honorable Mention at the 2026 TOOTRiS WINGS Summit for its GO-Team, which helps keep providers open when disasters, zoning rules and code issues threaten care. The initiative says it has helped preserve about 3,185 child care spots across Kansas.

Why it matters: - Child care closures can ripple into workforce shortages, family disruption and lost local economic activity. - The GO-Team model helps keep existing child care slots open by removing barriers that individual providers often cannot solve alone. - Child Care Aware of Kansas says the effort has protected approximately 3,185 child care spots.

What happened: - Child Care Aware of Kansas received an Honorable Mention at the 2026 TOOTRiS WINGS Summit for its GO-Team initiative. - Amanda Poyser, director of Family Connections and Community Impact, presented the program before about 300 child care leaders and industry partners in San Diego. - The summit took place Sept. 14–16 at the Coronado Island Marriott Resort & Spa. - The WINGS Awards selected six finalists from nationwide applications, and attendees voted on the winners. - More than $10,000 in funding and support was awarded across the program.

The details: - The GO-Team brings providers, government agencies and community partners together to solve threats to child care access. - The initiative addresses storm damage, unexpected closures, zoning restrictions, fire code requirements and expansion barriers. - Partners include Child Care Licensing, the State Fire Marshal’s Office, local governments, technical assistance organizations and Child Care Resource and Referral agencies. - The program replaces the burden of coordinating multiple agencies with a single table for decision makers and support resources. - According to the award application, the initiative completed 161 advocacy engagements with local government bodies. - The initiative awarded $28,900 in financial assistance to providers affected by storms and disasters. - An additional $100,000 was secured to help providers in 2026. - Poyser described helping a provider whose home was destroyed by fire, including aid to offset income lost while the provider could not offer care. - The team also worked with communities to resolve zoning and ordinance issues and met with fire officials to find solutions that protect children while allowing providers to keep operating. - Kami Cohorst, executive director of Child Care Aware of Kansas, said quality child care is the backbone of the economy and workforce. - Alessandra Lezama, CEO of TOOTRiS, said every protected child care spot represents a family that can keep moving forward.

Between the lines: - The award spotlights a practical model for child care rescue and retention, not just expansion. - The GO-Team’s value appears to be speed and coordination, especially when providers face overlapping regulatory and emergency challenges. - The Kansas effort also shows how local advocacy can turn into measurable preservation of existing care capacity.

What's next: - Child Care Aware of Kansas plans to continue using the GO-Team to support advocacy, emergency response and community partnerships across Kansas. - TOOTRiS said the summit is meant to help other communities learn from the Kansas approach. - The $100,000 in additional support secured for 2026 is expected to help providers facing future disruptions.

The bottom line: - Kansas is being recognized for a collaborative model that helps child care providers stay open when disaster, regulation or local barriers threaten access for families.