“We must do better.” Parson promises to aid child care, reduce maternal mortality

Gov. Mike Parson during his State of the State speech on Wednesday unveiled a plan to improve the cost and availability of child care across Missouri, aiming to aid beleaguered providers hit hard by the pandemic and inflation, as well as parents who have trouble finding care for their child.

The Republican governor is proposing an additional $78.5 million in child care subsidies – aid that helps defray costs for child care providers – as part of his annual budget proposal, as well as creating new tax child care tax credits and more funding to help low-income preschool children.

Parson announced the measures in a speech paired with a budget that includes significant new spending, allowing the governor, who has been in office since 2018, to put forward an agenda with elements such as child care aid that is attracting bipartisan support. Republicans and Democrats praised many of the governor’s priorities.

“We know child care remains a struggle for many parents and businesses,” Parson told a packed House chamber where lawmakers had gathered for a joint session. “Child care providers often have to limit their hours due to staffing shortages or increase their prices…this poses a real challenge to parents as they weigh the decision to work or stay home.”

Parson is also seeking $4.3 million for a new plan to improve maternal mortality. Missouri ranks 44th among states in maternal mortality, generally defined as the rate of death among mothers during pregnancy or within a year of giving birth.

Parson called the state’s ranking “embarrassing and absolutely unacceptable.” The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services estimates up to 75% of maternal deaths are preventable, he said.

“We refuse to accept this tragic Missouri statistic. We must do better. If we can’t get it right for the mothers and children across our state, we might as well pack our bags and let somebody else occupy our seats,” Parson said.

The governor’s emphasis on maternal mortality comes less than a year after Missouri banned abortion except in cases of medical emergency after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade. A “trigger” law to ban abortion if Roe was overturned was signed into law by Parson in 2019. Parson didn’t mention abortion in Wednesday’s speech.

Parson is also proposing three new child care tax credit programs. According to the governor’s office, one credit would encourage contributions to child care providers to expand their facilities and another would assist employers who offer child care. A third credit would assist providers with child care costs.

The estimated revenue cost of the credits wasn’t immediately available.

The budget proposal includes $22 million in new funding for Missouri Children’s Division, the state department that administers the child welfare system, including investigating child abuse and neglect. The governor’s office said the funding will go toward hiring additional employees and restructuring the agency. The Children’s Division has long struggled to recruit and retain workers, often because of low pay, leading to large caseloads.

Parson also wants $56 million to expand access to early childhood education for 4 year olds eligible for free-and-reduced school lunches. The governor’s office says the funding would allow 17,000 additional children to access pre-K programs.

“High impact investments in child care and early education support the workforce of today and equip children with the tools they need to succeed throughout their lives. We appreciate Governor Parson’s leadership and continued commitment to ensuring families have the resources they need to raise healthy, happy kids,” Brian Schmidt, director of Kids Win Missouri, said in a statement.

The focus on children comes as top legislators have already signaled they plan to prioritize child-related bills during the annual session. Republicans and Democrats had both anticipated that Parson would roll out a child care plan, with House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, a Springfield Democrat, previously saying she expects lawmakers in the two parties to reach a consensus on the issue. A Senate committee held a hearing Wednesday on a bill that would expand health coverage for low-income women during pregnancy and a year after giving birth.

House Speaker Dean Plocher, a St. Louis Republican, has previously framed the issue of child care as a business concern. Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden, a Columbia Republican, has said he will support several child-related bills, including expanding certain child care subsidies for people whose income exceeds the maximum threshold and another that would extend healthcare coverage for moms after the birth of their child.

Still, some of Parson’s statements about child care received standing ovations from Democrats, but a mixed response from Republicans. Rowden said after the speech that GOP lawmakers had a “tempered” reaction because of uncertainty over how the additional dollars would be used.

“I think I know the answer to that question probably is something that’s going to be okay for most Republicans,” Rowden said. “There’s a little bit of a fear of the unknown there, which I understand.”

Quade told reporters after Parson’s speech that there had been a shift in priorities among Parson and Republicans, which she said dated back to the end of Roe.

“People were frustrated by that change. So now we’re seeing our colleagues on the other side of the aisle swoop around with more family support programs and actually help with pregnancy and help with the care of children afterward,” Quade said. “Again, things we’ve been asking for, for a very long time.”

House Majority Leader Jonathan Patterson, a Lee’s Summit Republican, said he’s interested in Parson’s plan that would allow families to deduct the cost of child care from their taxes. He said child care was essential to allowing parents remain in the workforce.

“Being pro-life also means caring for the child after it’s born,” Patterson said.

Child care availability is an ongoing problem across Missouri, especially rural areas. In early 2022, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education said 30% of the state’s licensed childcare providers had closed or reduced services since the start of the pandemic. Updated information wasn’t immediately available.

Across Missouri, more than 29,300 children in child care receive state assistance, including 4,400 in Jackson County alone, according to Child Care Aware of Missouri. And care isn’t cheap: on average, it costs $214 a week to send a toddler to a child care center full-time in the county.

At least half of all Missouri residents lived in an area with a shortage of child care prior to the pandemic, Parson said.

“We know that problem has only worsened with one-third of facilities no longer open after the pandemic,” Parson said. “We need to do better…for our parents, children, providers, and businesses.”