Meet Kaylee Slepicka, CCLS

Founder of KLS – Child Life Services

Hi there, I’m Kaylee! I’m a Certified Child Life Specialist with over nine years of experience walking alongside children and families during some of life’s most challenging moments. I received my Bachelor’s degree in Child, Youth, and Family Sciences from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, and since then, I’ve had the privilege of working with incredible children facing big challenges—from hospital stays to chronic illness, grief, having an ill adult loved one in their life and everything in between.

For the first six years of my career I supported ill children in the hospital setting. Supporting them through medical stressors, advocating and helping them find some normalcy in an environment that is everything but. For the past three years, I have been supporting children who have an adult loved one diagnosed with cancer in their life. I’ve seen firsthand how overwhelming and confusing both situations can be for children and their families. And I’ve also seen just how strong and resilient kids can be when they’re given the tools, space, and support they need.

That’s where child life services come in. Through honest conversations, medical play, age-appropriate education, and therapeutic activities, I help children make sense of what’s happening around them. I give them a voice, a safe place to feel their feelings, and a sense of control in a world that can feel anything but. I also empower their caregivers and help them understand that their kids will be okay.

While adults turn to doctors and nurses for guidance, children need someone just for them. I’m that someone. I’m the person in their corner—their safe place, their listener, their explainer, their advocate. And in being that person for a child, I also support the whole family.

I created KLS – Child Life Services because child life is truly my passion. Every aspect of this service and support fills my cup. It is my goal to make sure families everywhere—not just those in big hospitals and cities—have access to this kind of care. Every child deserves to feel supported, understood, and empowered, no matter where they are or what they’re facing.