Children’s Cabinet webinar highlights summer meal map and new CBCAP grants (up to $400,000)

An update during the Children’s Cabinet webinar on May 14 promoted Sun Meals Kansas’ summer meal program: sponsors include school districts, libraries, churches, YMCAs and nonprofits, and summer meals are free for children ages 1–18. Presenters said a QR code links to a map that is updated daily; presenters did not provide an exact statewide site count and said sites are being approved continuously.

Julia Gruss, webinar facilitator, also outlined two system updates: (1) a grant-funded mental-health support initiative for childcare providers offered by the Mindful Collective and the Mindful Minis child care center in Derby, which will present in a subsequent webinar; and (2) a Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention (CBCAP) competitive RFP that went live the day of the webinar. Gruss said community-level CBCAP awards may be requested up to $300,000 and statewide awards up to $400,000; a technical assistance webinar on the RFP was scheduled for May 15 at 2 p.m., and applications are due June 23 at 5 p.m.

The webinar host noted that the recording will be posted to the Children’s Cabinet YouTube channel by 6 a.m. the following morning and listed upcoming events including the Early Childhood Recommendations Panel on May 16 and the next Children’s Cabinet meeting on June 6.

Practical next steps: attendees were invited to use the summer-meal map to locate local sites, request business cards for local distribution by emailing the presenter, register for the CBCAP technical assistance webinar, and consult the posted recording for details.