Missouri

Kids Win Missouri is a non-partisan, statewide coalition comprised of more than 100 members, representing child well-being, early childhood development, education, health, child safety and family economic security. They work to advance policies that support the well-being of Missouri children through education, collaboration, and advocacy.

State Allies:

Top Priorities for 2021

Expand access to voluntary, effective home visiting programs and services for families from prenatal to age 5.

Protect state funding for early childhood programs and services.

Develop a statewide “North Star” policy agenda that builds a stronger early childhood system in Missouri and increases access to high quality, equitable, and sustainable early care and education.

Missouri’s 2020 Early Childhood Policy Landscape and Progress:

$10.10B STATE BUDGET
Estimated FY20 State General Fund Expenditures

ALIGNED GOVERNMENT
House (R), Senate (R)
Governor (R)

42% LOW-INCOME
279,247 Young Children (0-8) are Below 200% FPL

The COVID-19 pandemic shortened the time of the legislative session by about 30 percent, and its economic impact forced legislators to drastically change the proposed FY2021 budget. Within three weeks, budget leaders cut approximately $700 million from traditional revenue sources utilizing the budget proposed by Governor Parson in January as a baseline. The ally’s work during the session was a combination of defense and promoting relief for early learning stakeholders.

HB1682 extends Medicaid coverage for postpartum depression and related mental health conditions up to one year after birth (NCSL).
HB1414 reforms Missouri’s foster care system and provides additional supports to homeless children: 1) ensures homeless youth have access to a free birth certificate, Medicaid, and can contract to receive mental health care, 2) clarifies that a child’s attendance in court hearings should only take place when the judge and family support believe it’s in the best interest of the child, 3) creates temporary alternative placement agreements, a mechanism to provide services to parents and family placement to ensure safety of children not brought into foster care, 4) ensures timely risk assessments within 72 hours of child abuse and neglect reports, 5) ensures foster parents have access, at the time of placement, to full medical records of their foster child, and 6) fixes a background check duplication issue for child care providers (saving them at least $40 per employee) and allows for non-expiring child care licenses.
Supported child care providers and families by encouraging the state to provide financial relief and assistance through its allocation of more than $66M in CARES Act funds.
2.2 percent increase in FY20 ($33,504,053) General Fund over FY19 (Mincic, 2020). There was an overall increase in child care from state and federal sources combined.
Missouri had percentage increase in General Funds for Early Childhood Program/ MO Preschool Program and Early Childhood Development, Education and Care Programs for low-income families from FY19 to FY20 (NCSL). There was an overall increase in pre-k from state and federal sources combined.
65.9 percent increase in General Funds from FY20 ($4,611,500) over FY19 (Mincic, 2020).
Early Childhood Special Education: 6.4 percent increase in FY20 ($36,013,040) over FY19 in Dedicated Funds (Early Childhood Development, Education and Care Fund funds; lottery funds for education) (NCSL).
Helped secure $3 million in Medicaid matching funds for home visiting programs; General Assembly approved budget language to allow home visiting programs to draw down a federal Medicaid match, increasing funding for family supports.

State Budget Data: National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO), “Table 4: Fiscal 2020 State General Fund, Estimated (Millions); The Fiscal Survey of the States.” Spring, 2020

Low-Income Data (including disaggregation by race): National Center for Children in Poverty, “NCCP Analysis of ACS 1-year Estimates—Public Use Microdata Sample, 2019.”

State Action Data: Provided by state advocates, October-November 2020, with analysis and synthesis by Frontera Strategy for Alliance for Early Success, “Protecting Progress and Investing in Scale: The 2020 50-State Progress Report on Early Childhood Education Policy.”

Additional State Actions: Mincic, Melissa, Early Care and Education, State Budget Actions, Fiscal Year 2020. National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), October 2020.

The Alliance for Early Success is achieving large-scale, long-lasting change for the state’s young children by providing our allies with powerful advantages that help them shape Missouri early childhood state policy.

Strategic, Outcomes-Focused Investments

Consulting and Strategy

Technical Support from National Expertise

Rapid Response Support

Connections/Access to Allies in Similar States

Roles in National Communities of Practice