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KDHE highlights hunger data and upcoming House briefings as lawmakers consider Office of Early Childhood bills
Summary
KDHE described findings from a United We report and Kansas Health Institute data walk on child food insecurity, and Systems Improvement Team members received a legislative update covering bill hearings this week on proposals to streamline early‑childhood governance and bills affecting child‑care workers and family supports.
Derek Flerlaug, KDHE bureau director, told the Systems Improvement Team that he attended a Kansas Health Institute data‑walk on child food insecurity and the United We report, and said the findings — including widely reported disparities in food access — underscore intersections between child care and family needs.
"About 1 in 4, 1 in 5 children are food insecure," Derek said, describing the data visualizations and linking the topic to KDHE's WIC program and potential cross‑agency policy conversations.
Derek also noted an informational briefing to the House Commerce Committee scheduled for 1:30 p.m. that afternoon focusing on child care; he said that hearing would be available via YouTube, and that a hearing on the Office of Early Childhood bill was set for Thursday where formal testimony would be taken.
In a legislative update, Emily Barnes of Kansas Action for Children said activity in the State House had been slow but expected to pick up. She said staff are tracking bipartisan bills to create an Office of Early Childhood — naming SB132 and HB2294 — and other measures that would affect providers and families, including SB207 (a pilot to offer health services and stipends to child‑care workers and to address local ordinances that limit operation) and its companion HB2383. Barnes also flagged proposed child tax credit bills (cited as HB2002 and SB179 in the meeting) and budget legislation including House Bill 2007, noting the KSDE budget and DCF/KDHE hearings that could affect early‑childhood funding.
Barnes urged attendees to monitor committee schedules on kslegislature.gov and to submit written testimony for budget items given tighter timelines in the Senate. She said a DCF and KDHE budget hearing was scheduled for March 5 before the Senate Ways and Means Committee.
Meeting participants also discussed related bills affecting SNAP limitations and CHIP eligibility; Barnes recommended tracking both direct and indirect legislation that could affect families' ability to afford child care.
KDHE and Systems Improvement Team staff encouraged members to watch the committee briefings on YouTube and to reach out to KDHE staff with questions about items in the United We report or legislative package.
