By Dave Ranney
KHI News Service
Members of the 2010 Commission review a proposal for putting the the Kansas Children”s Cabinet in charge of four early of the state’s childhood development programs. Shown, left to right, are Rep. Sue Storm, D-Overland Park, Ray Daniels, Rochelle Chronister, Dennis Jones, and Rep. Clay Aurand, R-Courtland. The commission reconvenes Aug. 20.
(Dave Ranney/KHI)
TOPEKA, July 31
The chairwoman of the 2010 Commission on Tuesday proposed putting the Kansas Children”s Cabinet in charge of four early childhood development programs now run by other agencies.
“We”re not reaching all of the kids we could be reaching,” said Rochelle Chronister. “If we can better coordinate our programs, maybe we can serve more kids. That”s what this is about.”
The proposal calls for the children”s cabinet taking over two programs currently administered by the Department of Health and Environment Education: Healthy Start, and the Infant-Toddler (Tiny K) programs. It also would shift Early Head Start from the Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services and Parents as Teachers from the Department of Education.
“These are community-based programs that tend to use parents to do the teaching rather than school-based programs that use teachers to do the teaching,” Chronister said. “So it makes sense, I think, for them to be under the same umbrella.”
The proposal also calls for putting the Department of Education in charge of all learning programs for children ages four and older, all special education programs, and services for deaf and blind children.
KDHE would continue overseeing immunization, child health, hearing and metabolic screening programs as well as the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) nutrition program.
The Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services would remain in charge of the child-care subsidy program.
The Department of Transportation would continue to oversee the child-passenger safety programs.
“I certainly do not anticipate this being the final proposal,” Chronister said. “It”s intended to be a starting point, something to get the conversation going.”
The 2010 Commission will discuss the proposal during its Aug. 20 meeting. Its recommendations will be forwarded to the Legislative Educational Planning Committee.
Earlier this year, lawmakers directed the educational planning committee and the 2010 Commission to come up with a plan for starting an Office of Early Childhood Education.
The office would be charged with coordinating the state”s early childhood development efforts and ensuring maximum efficiency.
Currently, the children”s cabinet advises lawmakers on how best to use the state”s Master Tobacco Settlement receipts to improve the lives of Kansas children.
If the children”s cabinet becomes the Office of Early Childhood Development, it would need additional staff, Chronister said.
“They only have two employees,” she said.
Chronister, a former Republican state representative from Neodesha, said her proposal assumes the four programs” administrative positions and budgets would move to the children”s cabinet.
“I don”t see this as something that”s going to take a lot of new people
but I don”t know,” she said. “It”s too early to say for sure.”
Melissa Ness, president of the children”s cabinet”s nine-member board, welcomed Chronister”s proposal.
“I think it”s a good starting point,” she said.
“The cabinet really doesn”t have an ownership in what the ultimate structure looks like,” Ness said. “But we do have an ownership in program results and in outcomes, and that”s what our role has been: convening and bringing people together.”
Ness is a former executive director at the Kansas Children”s Service League.
-Dave Ranney is a staff writer for KHI News Service, which specializes in coverage of health issues facing Kansans. He can be reached at
dranney@khi.org
or at 785-233-5443, ext. 128.