By PJ Green

The Kansas City Star

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In a classroom at the KD Academy in Kansas City’s Eastside on Wednesday , more than 20 toddlers quietly ate their lunch as media and elected officials packed the small lobby outside the classroom, announcing a pilot program where Kansas City and the state of Missouri will pay two-thirds of first responders’ childcare bills.

Emulating a Tri-Share model that originated in Michigan in 2021, Kansas City will receive $3 million in a matching grant from the state to put towards the one-year program that leaders are expecting to roll out over the next few months.

For now, the program is scheduled to end in late June, with its continued use determined by availability of funds and salary savings, according to city documents.

City leaders

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