Growing Together: Building a Stronger Child Care Ecosystem
🌻 SALINA — WE’RE GROWING TOGETHER, AND YOU’RE INVITED. 🌻
Child care impacts all of us. It impacts whether parents can work. Whether businesses can hire and retain employees. Whether providers can keep their doors open. Whether families choose to live and stay in our community.
So on Saturday, September 12, we’re bringing everyone to the same table.
💛 Families
💛 Child care providers
💛 Employers & HR professionals
💛 Business leaders
💛 Community organizations
💛 Elected officials & government partners
💛 Anyone who cares about building a stronger Salina
Growing Together: Building a Stronger Child Care Ecosystem is a FREE morning designed to connect, educate, answer questions, and help our community understand the opportunities in front of us.
🌻 9:00–10:00 AM | BRUNCH + CONNECTION + FAMILY FUN
🥞 Enjoy a FREE brunch
🤝 Meet local licensed child care providers
📚 Explore our Community Resource Fair
📸 Stop by the Selfie Station
🎈 Grab a balloon animal
🎨 Get some face painting
👨👩👧 Bring the kids and enjoy family activities
💬 Connect with the people and organizations working every day to strengthen child care in our community
Whether you're looking for child care, providing it, supporting families, or simply want to learn more — this hour is for you.
🌻 10:00–11:00 AM | CHILD CARE TAX CREDITS: WHAT BUSINESSES NEED TO KNOW
Join Brent Lewis and Child Care Aware of Kansas as they break down the state AND federal child care tax credits and incentives available to businesses and employers.
What exists?
Who qualifies?
How can businesses take advantage of these opportunities?
How can employers support child care while also strengthening their workforce?
If you're a business owner, employer, HR professional, accountant, community leader, or elected official, you do not want to miss this hour.
These are real tools that can make a real difference — and we're bringing the experts here to explain them.
🌻 11:00 AM–NOON | BUILDING THE CHILD CARE ECOSYSTEM: COMMUNITY & BUSINESS PANEL
Now let's talk about what this actually looks like in OUR community.
Hear directly from a panel of experts representing different pieces of the child care and business ecosystem.
We’ll tackle frequently asked questions about the tax credits, talk through how these opportunities can work in the real world, discuss the challenges facing employers, families and providers — and take YOUR questions.
This isn't just a presentation.
It's a conversation.
Bring your questions. Bring your ideas. Bring your challenges.
Come hear from the experts and be part of the discussion about what comes next for child care in our community.
🌻 Child care isn't just a family issue.
It’s a workforce issue.
It’s a business issue.
It’s an economic development issue.
And it’s a community issue.
The solution takes all of us.
📅 Saturday, September 12, 2026
⏰ 9:00 AM–Noon
📍 Tony’s Pizza Events Center
🎟️ FREE & open to everyone!
Families — this is for you.
Providers — this is for you.
Businesses — this is for you.
Community leaders — this is for you.
🌻 Join us. Ask questions. Make connections. Learn something new. And help us grow a stronger child care ecosystem — together.
👉 REGISTER TODAY:
https://forms.gle/F7VW4TzctTbue61V6
UNITED IS THE WAY. ❤️