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Disappearing Day Care: Child Care Crisis in the U.S.
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Bureaucratic hurdles stymie Missouri families seeking help affording child care
Applicants to the state child care subsidy program often face long call center wait times and onerous paperwork requirements — and child care providers who accept the subsidy face administrative hurdles of their own.
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Missouri’s governor made access to child care a top priority. Where do his proposals stand?
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson made improving access to child care a major part of his 2023 legislative agenda, declaring during his annual State of the State address in January that “early childhood care is essential to our state’s success.” Since then, lawmakers have worked to enact his recommendations, but the proposals have faced roadblocks on their way to his desk.
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Missouri child care deserts include nearly half of kids 5 and under, new data shows
An investigation by MuckRock and The Missouri Independent found that despite hundreds of millions in federal pandemic relief money pouring into the state, child care facilities are facing huge staffing shortages and parents are struggling with long waitlists for care.
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Five things we learned about Missouri’s child care crisis
MuckRock and The Missouri Independent analyzed the supply and demand of Missouri child care programs since 2019, drawing from public records and data provided by the advocacy group Child Care Aware.
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Missouri child care providers say their industry is in crisis. We want to hear from parents and providers.
Missouri has been particularly hard-hit by the national trend of unaffordable and inaccessible child care. This legislative session, the issue has captured the bipartisan attention of lawmakers and the governor. We want to hear from families and providers about Missouri’s child care crisis, so we’re launching a form that you can use to tell us about your experiences working in or sending your children to child care programs in the state.