Soon, eligible parents in Missouri could benefit from a new child care cost saving program called Child Care Works. This program could cut the price for families by as much as 75%, according to Dr. Toni Sturdivant, director of early learning at the Mid-America Regional Council (MARC).
Sturdivant is leading the program in Kansas City, Missouri, and understands how difficult finding and affording child care can be.
“Parents, especially women, have to make the decision to not work at all because once you subtract the price of child care, it’s not worth it,” Sturdivant said. “It is a crisis, and we believe that anyone that wants to work and contribute to society in that way should be able to.”
The vast majority of the $2.5 million provided from the state of Missouri will go directly toward the tuition for child care. Participating employers will pay another part of the cost for employees who earn less than 555% of the federal poverty level, according to MARC. In exchange, employers could claim up to 50% or $600,000 of qualified child care expenses in their federal taxes.
Sturdivant said all this effort is aiming to end the loop of unaffordable child care. Right now, parents are driven away by high prices, which lowers the number of licensed workers that providers can employ. With fewer employees, less child care spots are available, driving prices even higher.
Sturdivant said the program plans to start in November, and MARC will accept applications from businesses who want to participate again in December.
This program is only for those who live and work in Missouri. Kansas does not currently offer a similar program.
