STRATEGIC PLAN

For purposes of this report, KACCRRA is defined as the state office – its staff and board –  as separate from the network member agencies (i.e. local R&Rs). All planning is for the state office, or hub of the network, but has results related to and impact on the network member agencies.

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guiding principles

Early education results from interactions between children (birth to 8 years) and all adults who serve as their caregivers. Therefore, early education occurs in families of all kinds, child care centers, family child care homes, Head Starts and other part-day preschools, and Parents Day Out programs.

High quality in early education programs is dependent on professional, credentialed teachers who earn professional compensation. National data document this correlation as a statistically-predictable likelihood, although we recognize that it may not be reality in each individual case.  Teachers include home based (i.e., family child care, nannies, relative care, home visitors), center, preschool and school-age personnel.

The availability of high quality early education to all Kansas families will be achieved through construction of an effective system of early education, with functions comparable to those in the systems for primary, secondary, and higher education

The Essential Functions of the Early Care and Education System includes:

• Collaborative Planning and Cross-system Linkages
• Consumer and Public Engagement
• Quality Assurance
• Professional and Workforce Development
• Financing

Five Focus Areas:

• Quality Infrastructure
• Marketing the importance of quality child care
• Whole Child Development
• Quality Informal Care
• Fund Development Endowment – long-term sustainability of KACCRRA