Jefferson City — One week after more than 500 parents and child advocates visited the State Capitol for Child Advocacy Day, the Missouri House of Representatives, in late March, passed historic …
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Jefferson City — One week after more than 500 parents and child advocates visited the State Capitol for Child Advocacy Day, the Missouri House of Representatives, in late March, passed historic investments in child care and early education programs.
The Missouri Champion of Children Coalition, composed of law enforcement, military, health care, child advocates, and business leaders from communities throughout the state of Missouri praised the efforts of the Missouri House of Representatives.
“On behalf of parents, children and our coalition partners across the state, we offer our sincerest thanks to the Missouri House of Representatives for their efforts this week to invest in children,” Kids Win Missouri Executive Director Brian Schmidt said. “Today, we are encouraged by the progress made and we are grateful to all who have supported these important investments in child care and early education.”
In his State of the State address, Gov. Mike Parson proposed $56 million to expand pre-K, $78 million to support low-income, working families in accessing child care and also proposed tax credit programs to support employers who provide child care assistance to employees as well as child care providers. The Missouri House, led by House Budget Chairman Cody Smith and Vice-Chair Dirk Deaton, included these important investments at their full proposed levels in the House version of the annual state budget.
The House also gave initial approval to House Bill 870, sponsored by Rep. Brenda Shields, which authorizes the Child Care Contribution Tax Credit Act, the Employer-Provided Child Care Assistance Tax Credit Act, the Child Care Providers Tax Credit, and the Supporting Use of Child Care for Economic Stability and Security (SUCCESS) Tax Credit for child care.
A poll conducted by the Missouri Scout legislative subscription service found broad support for the proposals. By a margin of 70 to 20 percent, voters supported Parson’s proposed early education investments and, by a margin of 56 to 32 percent, voters supported Parson’s proposed child care assistance for working families. Each of these proposals had bipartisan support in all state media markets.
