To address the difficulty of finding Jewish care for babies in Greater Kansas City, Kansas Jewish Preschool (KJP) has expanded its program to include infant care.
KJP says that it is the first infant care option in a Jewish program in the Kansas City metro area.
In 2019, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment published a supply and demand report that examined the need for childcare in the state. According to the report, there are between 11 and 20 children in Johnson County under the age of three for every one child care opening. The report revealed an industry that has always been strained is now reaching critical levels.
For years, KJP (previously Gan Chabad) has enrolled toddlers who are one year old and walking by the start of school, but many community programs don’t accept students until they are 18 months old. KJP aims to help close the gap with the opening of the infant care room.
The initial three spots in the program were immediately taken, with a long waitlist for the additional three spots being opened in the second semester.
Due to the high level of needs infants have, the infant-to-teacher ratio is a tight three-to-one, with the intent of the highest possible level of care. While the infant room is full through the 2023-24 school year, the waitlist for the 2024-25 year has already begun.
“Babies absorb everything around them, and it’s comforting knowing that our baby is listening to Jewish music, attending the Friday Shabbat party, and generally being cared for with Jewish values,” said Julie Krashin, mother of one of the first class members of the infant room, and KJP’s office administrator.
KJP is open Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. More information and applications for a spot on the 2024-25 infant room waitlist can be obtained by emailing Krashin at .