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In Missouri, a child must be born before a divorce can be finalized, and advocates fear this can keep people in domestic violence situations from being able to leave their abusers. Representative Ashley Aune of Kansas City introduced a bill earlier this February that would undo the statute.
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Abortion is still legal in Kansas, with restrictions — but abortion opponents want Kansas lawmakers to enact laws to support anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers and put parents on the hook for child support starting at conception. We'll break down those and other reproductive policies working their way through the legislature this session.
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Abortion opponents want the Kansas Legislature to increase funding for anti-abortion counseling centers, begin child support at conception and ask more questions of abortion patients.
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The set of tax credits, which Gov. Mike Parson mentioned during his State of the State address, gained broad bipartisan support. But the legislation is likely to be opposed by members of the far-right Missouri Freedom Caucus.
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Jennifer Heinemann and Michell Jones know firsthand the impact of Sister Berta Sailer, one of the co-founders of Operation Breakthrough, who died last week. "She was more like a mom, a mentor and my hero," Jones recalled.
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Sister Berta Sailer, one of Kansas City's greatest advocates for disadvantaged chidlren, died last week at 87. In the 1960s, she opened an at-home day care that eventually grew to become Operation Breakthrough. Plus: A rural Missouri school district is one of the first in the U.S. to receive electric buses from a new EPA program.
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Gov. Mike Parson highlighted bipartisan issues in his final State of the State address as Missouri governor, gaining him some praise across the aisle. The Republican governor shares his agenda and goals for the last year of his term.
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The credit is designed to encourage small businesses to offset costs for their employees and get money shaved off their state tax bill as a reward, but advocates say the Kansas hasn’t done a great job spreading the word.
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There aren’t enough child care openings for Kansas families, and the ones that do exist can cost more than a home mortgage.
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As the 2024 legislative session begins, the Republican-led Missouri General Assembly is prioritizing expanding child care access and restricting ballot initiative restrictions. But the stakes of an election year could exacerbate divisions between the parties.
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By some estimates, Kansas is short more than 84,000 childcare slots in order to meet current demand. And even when they find an opening, families can pay more than their mortgage to keep their kid enrolled. State legislators say fixing the issue is a priority.
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Missouri’s Board of Education changed a rule this week that had prevented many child care providers from accessing the $26 million in grant funding allocated by lawmakers.