Over the past 18 months the Needs Assessment conducted by KCCTO and completed by the early childhood care and education professionals across Kansas made one very clear: these professionals want their experience, training, and growth to be recognized in meaningful ways that count toward a degree and a long-term career.
Many of you shared that you are constantly learning through professional development, credentials, and on-the-job experience, but that this learning does not always translate into progress toward higher education or career advancement. Your voices told us that the system has not always reflected the value of the work you do or the expertise you already bring to the field.
In response to that need, work began to explore credit for prior learning and stackable credentials for early childhood. Obtaining credit for prior learning & experience towards higher education credit hours for knowledge and skills they have already gained through training (i.e., CDA), reducing duplication of training or coursework when working toward a certificate and degree saving time and cost. Credentials that build upon one another, can be recorded and tracked, and can be used toward a degree pathway. With the support of the Kansas Career Pathway and Cape, we now have tools in place that make it possible to document and align these credentials in a way that supports career growth.
Who is on the Kansas Early Childhood Change Team?
Next Steps
This is only the beginning of the process; your continued input is essential. We invite you to:
If you would like to learn more or participate in future conversations, please watch for upcoming opportunities to engage, or reach out to www.kccto.org/change-team.
Together, we can build a system that values the work of early childhood professionals and supports meaningful career pathways across Kansas.
Thank you for the important work you do every day for children and families.
Manhattan, Kan. – January 28, 2025 – Kansas Child Care Training Opportunities (KCCTO) is proud to announce the launch of Cape, a career and professional empowerment portal tailored for Kansas’ early childhood workforce.
Cape, available at YourCape.org, provides a hub for early childhood professionals to access training, manage growth, and track career milestones. By streamlining tools and aligning resources, Cape empowers individuals to focus more on their vital work with children and families and less on navigating multiple systems for resources and support.
Cape went live on January 13, 2025, with a soft launch. KCCTO leads the rollout as the first organization offering professional development opportunities exclusively through Cape. The soft launch approach allows KCCTO and collaborating partners to ensure staff readiness and address user concerns ahead of release to the broader workforce.
“It feels surreal that something early childhood leaders have dreamt of for many years has become a reality. This is an exciting step forward for the State of Kansas and the Early Childhood Workforce,” said Haley Hynek, Cape Director at KCCTO.
Empowering the Workforce
Cape simplifies access to professional development training and resources, reduces duplication, and eliminates reliance on paper forms. Users can organize career information efficiently, while partners gain data insights to improve workforce policies and investments. Initial release is targeted to child care professionals working in licensed and license-exempt programs. Future expansion is expected to include professionals working in family support, home visiting, and early intervention roles.
Key features include:
Collaborative Development
The Cape portal is a collaborative effort among KCCTO; Child Care Aware of Kansas; and early childhood state agencies including the Kansas Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund, Kansas Department for Children and Families, Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), and Kansas State Department of Education. KDHE is the State Lead. “Cape represents another step forward in cementing the expertise of our early childhood workforce in Kansas. Our early childhood care and educators have long deserved a platform to empower their personal and professional development. We are proud of our collaboration with our many partners and providers and are especially proud of KCCTO’s commitment to making this a reality,” said Derik Flerlage, KDHE Bureau of Family Health Director. Learn more about the collaboration, All In For Kansas Kids, at allinforkansaskids.org.
Visit YourCape.org to explore this resource today!
On November 13th, 2024, Haley Hynek, Associate Director of Workforce Systems, gave an overview of Cape during the All in for Kansas Kids webinar. Check out of the first half of this recording for more info about Cape.
Cape, your career and professional empowerment tool, is underway. We are finally in a position to be able to share some an outline of the build after completing almost all of Phase 1!
Phase 1: Foundational Setup
Estimated Timeline: January 2024 – October 2024
Our initial phase focuses on building essential features of the portal with ready-to-use solutions tailored to meet the needs of external statewide users and internal portal staff. Some of the features that are a part of this phase include:
Phase 2: Expanding Core Features
Estimated Timeline: November 2024 – April 2025
In Phase 2, additional builds will deliver crucial elements that were outside the scope of Phase 1. This short build will add key features like approvals, user credentials, and training and education resources.
Phase 3: Enhanced Functionality
Estimated Timeline: July 2025 – June 2026
This longer development phase will further strengthen foundational elements while introducing new tools, such as peer-to-peer interactions, career development support, enhanced marketing capabilities, and data integration through APIs.
Phase 4: Future Enhancements
Estimated Timeline: July 2026 – June 2027
The specific scope of this phase will be defined in June 2025, with a focus on continuing to build and adapt to meet evolving needs.
Stay tuned as we continue to enhance our services to support early childhood professionals across the state!
