The Missouri House rejected attempts by Democrats on Tuesday to restore $51.5 million in cuts to the state's child care subsidy program.
The program helps cover the cost of child care for more than 27,000 low-income and foster children statewide, according to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The department started a waiting list for the program on March 1, citing a 19% increase in demand during the past year.
Lawmakers also rebuffed efforts to allow the department to begin making subsidy payments to providers based on enrollment at the beginning of the month instead of at the end of the month after reporting the number of days children were in their care.
Opponents of Democrats' failed amendments argued they would have derailed efforts to rightsize the state budget facing massive shortfalls. But supporters said recommendations in a budget plan laid out by Republican state Rep. Dirk Deaton of Seneca, chairman of the House Budget Committee, would add to the struggles of low-income families and prolong chronic instability in the child care industry.
Child care providers participating in the subsidy program weathered months of delayed payments in 2023 and 2024, driving some to the brink of closure — or changing their policies to turn away families using subsidies.
The department planned to begin paying based on enrollment in May. Gov. Mike Kehoe championed the change as a way to stabilize providers' income in his first State of the State address last year.
But Deaton's spending plan would prohibit subsidy payments based on any "non-attendance based methodology." State Budget Director Dan Haug told the House Budget Committee earlier this month that the state would hold off on the new payment methodology in May if Deaton's recommendation is signed into law.
The average annual cost of child care for an infant in Missouri is $13,780, according to Child Care Aware of Missouri. For a 4-year-old, it's $9,568.
Deaton argued his recommendations aim to protect the child care subsidy program from future cuts.
But state Rep. Betsy Fogle of Springfield, the ranking Democrat on the budget committee who proposed some of the amendments that would have restored cuts, urged her colleagues to consider the impacts of the cuts Deaton is already proposing.
"Those are budget decisions," she said. "Those are decisions that we are making right now, actively in this room today. If you do not want to do those things…then support our efforts to restore the $51 million that the governor agreed was a good investment."
Child care subsidies
Deaton's proposed cuts to Missouri's child subsidy program would eliminate "rate enhancements" that help providers cover costs of serving children with special needs, foster children or providers that meet accreditation or access requirements.
Fogle introduced an amendment that would have restored the proposed cuts using interest generated by funds in the state's Office of Administration dedicated to projects upgrading Interstate 70 and Interstate 44.
Full funding for child care subsidies, Fogle said, would allow parents to go to work.
"We want families to be able to pay their own bills, and that means they get up and they go to work if they are…able to do so," she said. "A large part of that is our child subsidy program."
Deaton argued that Fogle's amendment would "jeopardize…if not obliterate" his pursuit of a sustainable, balanced budget.
The amendment failed, with 60 votes in favor and 78 votes against. No Democrats voted against the amendment, while 13 Republicans voted in favor.
Payment based on enrollment
Another amendment proposed by Fogle would have eliminated language in Deaton's spending plan prohibiting subsidy payments based on enrollment.
Democratic state Rep. Stephanie Hein of Springfield introduced a similar change that would have allowed the state to pay providers based on enrollment for foster children only. It suggested transferring $2.8 million in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, or TANF, to help cover additional costs.
Deaton said paying based on enrollment would lead to overpayment of providers, as well as problems with "oversight and program integrity." It would also force the state to make further cuts to the subsidy program.
"If we go to paying on enrollment," he said, "we're going to have to either cut rates or kick kids off the program."
Hein pointed out that private sector providers receive upfront payment based on enrollment and that her amendment would align the state with that practice.
Fogle's amendment was defeated 93-53, with six Republicans in support and no Democrats in opposition. Hein's was defeated on a voice vote.
Impacts
Lawmakers approved an amendment that would transfer $1 million to Child Care Works, an initiative launched in 2025 to support families who earn too much to qualify for the state subsidy but can't afford child care as costs rise.
The initiative enrolls employers to share in child care costs, paying a flat rate per employee based on their region. The state pays up to 40% of costs for children of covered employees, and families pay the rest. The lowest-income families pay as little as a quarter of the cost. Nonprofits can also contribute to costs.
The amendment, introduced by Hein, would require a $1 million cut from a grant program designed to incentivize licensed prekindergarten programs that serve low-income children, called Missouri Quality Prekindergarten grants, or MOQPK.
Hein said the department supports the change and described Child Care Works as "one of the innovative things that we are doing."
Casey Hanson, deputy director of Kids Win Missouri, said the good news doesn't change the "severe impact" providers expect Deaton's proposed cuts to have.
Hanson said eliminating rate enhancements could discourage providers from serving low-income and foster families — or pursuing state accreditation.
"If they've worked to get accredited, part of that is getting your teachers' qualifications up, so then that extra money is helping you pay them more," she said. "Does that system start to fall apart when they're not getting extra money?"
Hein said the child subsidy program is a lifeline for many parents that allows them to work.
"These are families who are trying to work," Hein said. "And right now in our economy, it often takes two parents [working] to be able to make ends meet….This is the way that we help those families be in our workforce, grow their income and really stabilize their families."
