Shawnee County health department seeks $1.7 million in state grants to fund child care licensing, emergency preparedness and prevention programs

Teresa Fischer, director of the Shawnee County Health Department, told commissioners on March 2 that the department is submitting an Aid to Local grant package to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment that the department estimates at "just over $1.7 million" for state fiscal year 2027, up from a request of "just over $1.5 million" the prior year and an award of "just over $1.3 million." Fischer said the grants cover programs that make up the majority of the health department’s external funding and apply to the July 1–June 30 grant year.

The package includes multiple program-specific requests and a mix of formula and competitive grants. Roger Barnhart, division manager for community health outreach and planning, highlighted child care licensing (CCL), reporting 261 licensed facilities in Shawnee County, down from 296 in 2024, and a licensed‑slot capacity he said is about 8,625. Barnhart said CCL funding is formula‑based using the population of children under 15 drawn from the 2020 U.S. Census, which he cited as roughly 34,150 children for the county, and that regulatory changes in 2024 expanded capacity for in‑home unlicensed providers while increasing staffing and compliance costs for licensed centers.

"The reason the importance of our efforts beyond just the regulatory oversight is for instance the University of Kansas care board study just released about a year ago," Barnhart said, "for every $1 invested in early childhood education enabling parents to work subsequently provides about approximately $8.60 generating local economic benefit." He described outreach and orientation work to recruit and sustain licensed providers.

Fischer and staff also described a chronic disease risk reduction (CDR) application focused on youth tobacco and vaping prevention and related nutrition and breastfeeding initiatives; they noted the CDR grant is competitive and must prioritize tobacco prevention. Fischer described the county’s tobacco diversion "court" for youth—hosted by the health department to reduce district court burdens—and partnerships with local schools and nonprofits for youth education.

On public health emergency preparedness (FEP), presenters listed recent training outputs—138 "Stop the Bleed" classes, about 80 CPR trainings and roughly 400 total participants, plus about 60 mental health first‑aid trainings—and said FEP funds are formula‑based and tied to federal allocations and ESF‑8 regional coordination. The department reported a FEP request transcribed in the presentation materials (amounts quoted in the meeting packet were read aloud and include several figures; some figures in the transcript were abbreviated or unclear). Fischer said finance manager Kathleen Burrows is available to answer budget and match questions.

Clinical services manager (transcribed as) Carrie Dels described a Title X family planning competitive request of "just over $217,000" with a reported 40% county match ($86,863) to fund staff salaries, medical supplies and operations, and an Immunization Action Plan allocation expected of $33,438. Britney Rambo, team lead for maternal and child health, described a competitive MCH request of $381,444 with a county match of $152,578 covering home visiting, prenatal education (English and Spanish), fatherhood supports and related outreach; she also said the department is applying for a new universal home visiting grant (reported request $124,357) that does not require a county match.

Commissioners asked clarifying questions. On the decline in licensed child care sites, Barnhart and Fischer said 2024 regulatory changes increased requirements for licensed providers and expanded allowable capacity for some unlicensed in‑home providers, which together made it harder for small licensed centers to operate and caused some to close. On emergency trainings, staff said participants included mandated staff from long‑term care facilities and schools as well as community members and partner agencies.

Fischer closed by thanking grant writers and reminding the commission that the grant packages will come back on the March 12 BCC agenda for formal consideration before submission deadlines.

Next steps: commissioners will see the complete grant packages on the March 12 BCC agenda where any formal approvals or budget matches will be recorded.