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Hosting annual roundtables across the state, supporting apprenticeship programs are part of workforce strategies.

Kylee Childs, vice president of policy and workforce development at LeadingAge Kansas, appreciates the value of making connections. She came to aging services from the child welfare sector, where she worked as a dispatcher and developed skills in recruitment and hiring. "Once I got into my policy role here at LeadingAge Kansas, workforce just became part of my role as well," she said.

Building connections among LeadingAge Kansas constituents is a centerpiece of Childs' approach to better understand shared concerns and devise strategies to address them. For the past two years, she's hosted a series of workforce roundtables that convene a diverse range of participants and encourage the exchange of ideas.

In June 2026, for instance, Childs visited four regions of the state, moderating a three-hour conversation at each site. "We invite all different stakeholders. If you have a vested interest in the health care workforce pipeline, even if indirectly through child care or housing, you get invited," she said, noting that legislators from each region also receive invitations.

A 2024 workforce roundtable surfaced an issue that she brought to the Kansas legislature. "We have a bottleneck happening with our nurse faculty; there is a shortage of nurse faculty educators, but the requirement is that you have to have a master's degree," Childs explained. "At community colleges, they can't compete with the pay [for someone with a master's] so we aren't filling seats [in classrooms] and aren't getting people through the pipeline."

Noting it was a regulatory barrier, Childs said, "We looked at how we could adjust that; an instructor could be one degree higher than those they are teaching, and other levels of experience could be considered, as opposed to just degree attainment." The issue became a 2026 priority for LeadingAge Kansas and legislative action was subsequently taken. "It did pass out and didn't impact accreditation; it creates some flexibility for colleges so they can start opening pathways for people who have been in nursing, but don't want to go back for a master's degree," she explained. While the fruition of this new regulation hasn't yet been realized, Childs noted this as an example of a positive result from a workforce roundtable.

Another challenge in the aging services sector is finding dietary staff for nursing homes; since January 2024, registered dietitians nationwide are required to have master's degrees. Kansas State University "used to have a really well-developed nutrition program but now maybe ten students per year go through it," said Childs.

She said LeadingAge Kansas is looking at what would be "the step in the middle-the Certified Dietary Manager (CDM, CFPP)-and how [candidates] would be able to get that credential." None of the programs in Kansas currently meet the national standard, she noted, so providers are sending people out of state or online to obtain a manager's badge. "We're looking at how we can work with our colleges to develop something that's in-state," she said.

Attendance for this year's roundtables was higher than in 2025. Each year, Childs generates a report, posted on the LeadingAge Kansas website, highlighting the themes of roundtables across the state. "The report includes some policy steps local legislators, as well as local communities, can take, along with resources so individuals can follow up," she said, adding that the association intends to continue these events in 2027.

Focusing on Apprenticeships

Another facet of Childs's role involves promoting apprenticeship opportunities developed via the Kansas Apprenticeship Act, which offers $13 million each year in tax credits and grants-including $2.5 million for nonprofit and health care organizations. Grace Team Services, a senior living management and development company, partners with LeadingAge Kansas to help disseminate apprenticeship and/or internship opportunities at both for-profit and nonprofit organizations-at any given time, there can be as many as 150 opportunities available. An interactive map on the LeadingAge Kansas website shows the locations for each apprenticeship, including contact information for the program director.

"Most of our apprentices are in their 20s and 30s or a little older," said Childs. "Maybe they've been working in a different role that didn't require any type of certificate or technical skills; they may be thinking they'd like to move up and need an entry-level [apprenticeship] opportunity."

With an older population of apprentices in Kansas across all industries-not just the aging services field-LeadingAge Kansas is "trying to step into that space of youth apprenticeships," Childs said. "We've partnered with HirePaths, which works with parents and teachers, to provide information about careers in aging services that don't require a four-year degree."