New survey: Kansans across party lines voice strong support for programs that help children, families

Hutchinson, KS – A new study found that Kansans feel the current economy is unfriendly to families raising young children, and they support programs that help them thrive. In fact, most families surveyed as part of the study said government was doing too little to help families with young children.

The study was conducted by PerryUndem, a nonpartisan research firm, to better understand Kansans’ feelings and experiences around raising young children today, including opinions on programs designed to help children and families.

The research was commissioned by the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund and four other independent foundations that focus on improving the lives of children and families. The Health Fund wanted to gain deeper insights into families’ current pain points and beliefs.

PerryUndem conducted its research in June and July 2025, which included focus groups and a survey. The survey was conducted across Kansas and nationally, as well.

The study found many Kansas families feel intense economic stress right now and that young families are under even more pressure. There was bipartisan support for government programs like Head Start, Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and WIC that help families meet basic needs.

“While Kansans are independent and do not like to turn to government for help, and many have concerns about waste and abuse in programs, they simultaneously see a need for investing in government programs right now,” said Mike Perry, partner at PerryUndem. “They know firsthand these are challenging economic times and that many families with young children need help through no fault of their own.”

These findings come at a time when Kansas and other states must begin addressing the impacts of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which was passed in July and will reduce federal funding for Medicaid and SNAP by more than $1 trillion. In Kansas, the survey found only 7% of families support decreasing funding for Medicaid, and 16% or fewer support cuts to any of these support programs. The majority of those surveyed said they wanted to instead increase spending on all of these programs that help families raising young children.

The Kansas data was derived as part of an over sample of a national poll. Additional key findings from the study for both Kansas and nationally include:

• 84% of Kansans (86% nationally) feel the economy is making life harder for families raising young children, and 77% of Kansans (73% nationally) believe families with young children are struggling a lot with everyday costs.
• 70% of Kansans (68% nationally) believe the government should help families with young children when they are struggling, including child care, health care, nutrition and preschool.
• 54% of Kansans (49% nationally) want to see increased funding for Head Start, which promotes school readiness for children who are low income and under 5 years old.
• 63% of Kansans (53% nationally) want to see increased funding for Medicaid, a public health insurance program for low-income parents, seniors and people with disabilities.
• Most feel government is doing too little to help (69% Kansans and 62% nationally) and oppose the funding cuts to health care and food assistance included in the recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which will cut more than $1 trillion from public health care and food assistance (70% Kansans and 63% nationally).
• 64% of Kansans (58% nationally) feel the country is headed in the wrong direction, and most believe the economy will worsen in the next 12 months (60% Kansans and 53% nationally).
• Finding affordable, quality child care is difficult, forcing families to make hard choices about whether they should continue working or stay home with their children.
• 86% of Kansans (82% nationally) believe it should be easier for families raising young children to enroll in government programs when they need help, not putting barriers in their way to make it harder.
• The cost of health care is a top concern (90% of Kansans and 85% nationally), followed by the cost of living (89% Kansans and 89% nationally) and the cost of food (85% of Kansans and 87% nationally).
• 87% of Kansans (86% nationally) support paid leave for parents to care for and bond with a new child.
• Most are concerned about waste and abuse in government programs (72% of Kansans and 75% nationally), but most also believe some politicians exaggerate the abuse of these programs as a reason to cut funding (75% of Kansans and 65% nationally).

“Both nationally and in Kansas, there is strong agreement that we should be doing more to help families in this economy, not make life harder or put barriers in their way,” said David Jordan, president and CEO at the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund.

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