In a significant move to address the long-standing challenges of a fragmented and often inaccessible early childhood care system, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has nominated Christi Smith, a respected leader in the state’s family services community, to serve as the first-ever director of the newly established Kansas Office of Early Childhood. Smith, who is the current executive director of Child Care Aware of Kansas, brings a wealth of experience in connecting families with essential resources. Her nomination signals a pivotal moment for the state as it embarks on a comprehensive overhaul of its early childhood education and care infrastructure. While her official confirmation by the Kansas Senate is anticipated in January 2026, Smith is set to lead the fledgling agency in an acting capacity, steering its initial formation and strategy. This appointment is the culmination of a concerted effort to create a more unified, efficient, and responsive system to support the state’s youngest residents and their families, placing a seasoned advocate at the helm of this transformative initiative.
A Leader with Deep Roots in Family Services
Christi Smith’s professional journey spans over two decades and is characterized by a consistent dedication to supporting educators, children, and families across Kansas. Before her impactful tenure at Child Care Aware of Kansas, she served as the executive director for Alpha Delta Kappa, an international nonprofit professional association for women educators, where she honed her skills in organizational management and advocacy on a large scale. Her experience is further grounded in direct social services work, including a critical role as the director of family preservation at DCCCA, a prominent social services organization headquartered in Douglas County. This diverse background has provided her with a unique, multifaceted perspective on the systemic issues facing Kansas families. Governor Kelly lauded this expertise, highlighting Smith’s “impressive experience” and “passion” as precisely the qualities needed to launch and guide the new office toward achieving its ambitious goals. Her academic credentials, including a bachelor’s degree from Missouri State University and a master’s degree in organizational leadership from the Ellis College of New York Institute of Technology, complement her practical experience, equipping her with the strategic foresight necessary to navigate the complexities of state government and build a new agency from the ground up.
Smith has articulated a clear and focused vision for the Office of Early Childhood, centered on the principle of integration and collaboration. She emphasized that her primary objective will be “breaking down silos and strengthening partnerships” to construct a seamless early childhood system that effectively serves the needs of all Kansans. This vision translates into a practical strategy aimed at dismantling the bureaucratic barriers that have historically separated nearly 20 different state programs related to early childhood care and education. By unifying these disparate functions—from child care licensing and assistance to home visiting initiatives—under a single administrative umbrella, the office intends to create a more intuitive and accessible support network for both families seeking care and providers offering it. Her leadership at Child Care Aware of Kansas, an organization dedicated to operating a statewide resource and referral network, has given her firsthand insight into the frustrations caused by a disjointed system. This experience will be invaluable as she works to foster a culture of cooperation among state agencies, private sector partners, and community stakeholders to ensure that every child and family in Kansas can thrive.
A Landmark Legislative Reform
The creation of the Office of Early Childhood is not a sudden development but the product of a deliberate and bipartisan legislative effort aimed at systemic reform. This historic initiative was formalized in 2025 with the passage of House Bill 2045, a piece of legislation that Governor Kelly signed into law and hailed as the most consequential early childhood bill in Kansas in the last 15 years. The measure garnered overwhelming support from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, passing the House with a decisive 99-23 vote and the Senate with a 30-10 majority. This broad consensus underscores a shared recognition among state leaders of the urgent need to address the state’s child care crisis. The foundation for this legislation was laid by the Early Childhood Transition Task Force, a body established by Governor Kelly in 2023 to study the state’s existing systems and recommend a path forward. The task force’s key recommendation was the establishment of a single, cabinet-level agency to oversee all early childhood programs, a proposal that became the centerpiece of the new law. The office is officially slated to begin its operations on July 1, 2026, marking a new era for early childhood governance in the state.
At its core, the new agency is designed to serve as the central hub for a previously scattered array of state services, with a mandate to develop and execute a cohesive statewide strategy for expanding child care access. The office will absorb nearly 20 existing state programs currently housed within multiple agencies, unifying critical functions such as child care licensing, the administration of child care assistance programs, the coordination of home visiting initiatives, and the management of the Kansas Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund. This consolidation is intended to eliminate redundant processes, reduce administrative inefficiencies, and create a more streamlined experience for families and providers. House Speaker Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican, championed the reform as a source of “real solutions” to the systemic bottlenecks that have long suppressed child care availability and inflated costs. The law specifically aims to increase the number of available child care slots by easing overly burdensome regulations and offering greater operational flexibility to home-based providers, which are often the only option in rural and underserved communities. This structural realignment represents a fundamental shift in the state’s approach, moving from a fragmented collection of programs to an integrated and strategic system.
Forging a New Path for Kansas Families
The nomination of Christi Smith and the legislative establishment of the Kansas Office of Early Childhood marked a pivotal turning point in the state’s commitment to its youngest citizens. This strategic convergence of experienced leadership and systemic reform laid a new foundation for addressing the deep-seated challenges within the early childhood sector. The decision to consolidate disparate programs under one roof was a direct response to years of feedback from parents, providers, and advocates who navigated a complex and often frustrating bureaucracy. The bipartisan support for the enabling legislation reflected a powerful consensus that a thriving economy and healthy communities depended on a robust and accessible child care infrastructure. Smith’s appointment was seen not merely as the filling of an administrative post but as the selection of a leader whose career had been dedicated to building the very kinds of collaborative systems the new office was designed to create. The actions taken in 2025 set in motion a comprehensive overhaul that positioned Kansas to build a more resilient and equitable future for generations to come.
