Kansas governor nominates child care administrator to lead new state agency

Christi Smith, executive director of Child Care Aware of Kansas, is the nominee of Gov. Laura Kelly to serve as the first director of the Kansas Office of Early Childhood. The agency will launch in July and consolidate programs scattered among several state agencies. (Submitted)

TOPEKA — Gov. Laura Kelly nominated the leader of a Kansas organization working to connect families with quality and affordable child care to serve as the first director of the state’s Office of Early Childhood.

Kelly recommended the Kansas Senate confirm Christi Smith, who works as executive director of Child Care Aware of Kansas. The organization leads a statewide child care resource and referral network. She has been in the early childhood and family service field for more than two decades.

“I am confident that Christi’s years of impressive experience along with her passion will provide the leadership necessary to ensure the office successfully delivers on its charge,” Kelly said. “I look forward to her work to align our early childhood investments, develop a world-class early childhood system that benefits Kansas children and families, and secure a brighter economic future for our entire state.”

The Office of Early Childhood begins operation July 1, 2026, and Smith would serve in an acting capacity pending Senate action. The Senate is likely to take up the nomination after the 2026 session begins in January.

Under a bipartisan state law adopted in 2025, the Office of Early Childhood would be responsible for administration of the state’s early childhood care and education system. House Bill 2045 outlined a path to greater efficiency and better service delivery in areas that included child care licensing, child care assistance, home visiting programs and the Kansas Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund.

The law signed by Kelly would consolidate into one office nearly 20 existing state programs serving young children and families. One of the office’s duties would be to develop a statewide strategy for expanding access to child care.

“Working alongside families, the child care workforce and leaders across the state, I will focus on breaking down silos and strengthening partnerships to ensure our early childhood system helps children and families thrive,” Smith said.

Before leading Child Care Aware of Kansas, Smith was executive director of Alpha Delta Kappa, a nonprofit professional association for women educators. She also worked as director of family preservation at DCCCA, a Douglas County-based social services organization.

She earned a bachelor’s degree at Missouri State University and a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Ellis College of New York Institute of Technology.

In April, Kelly signed the compromise bill assembled during negotiations with members of the House and Senate. The bill cleared the House on a vote of 99-23 and passed the Senate by a 30-10 margin.

The governor called it the most consequential early childhood education and care legislation enacted in Kansas in 15 years and vowed the state’s early childhood system would “no longer be bogged down by inefficiencies and bureaucratic red tape.”

House Speaker Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican running for state insurance commissioner, said Kansas had an urgent need for affordable child care. He said the reform law would address bottlenecks in the system that “quite frankly suppress availability and drive up cost.”

“These are real solutions that will immediately increase slots by reducing overly burdensome regulations, streamlining support services for providers and families, and addressing underserved and rural shortages by increasing flexibility for home-based providers,” he said.

The consolidation was among recommendations of the Early Childhood Transition Task Force established in 2023 by an executive order issued by Kelly. A bill related to the Office of Early Childhood was debated by the 2024 Legislature, but wasn’t approved.