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A special session of the Missouri Legislature to complete the budget may be needed if it is not finalized by Friday at 6 p.m.(luzitanija/Adobe Stock)
Child care advocates are pushing for increased funding as the budget deadline approaches this Friday. Robyn Schelp, director of policy and advocacy for Kids Win Missouri, said ensuring increases to ...
Child care
Kentucky child-care providers face uncertain future when federal funding expires
Child-care providers in Kentucky are bracing for severe funding cuts when $330 million in annual federal funding expires in September. A recent survey of hundreds of child-care directors in the ...
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Child care
Child care tax credits gain momentum in Missouri
While Missouri’s legislative session has just begun, child-care tax credits are at top of mind with a bipartisan House bill. HB 1488 takes a three-pronged approach to supplementing the ...
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Child care
Report: Illinois’ child well-being varies widely by race
A new report looks at children’s well-being in every state and finds in Illinois, the outcomes vary greatly depending on race. In its Race for Results report, the Annie E. Casey Foundation ...
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Child care
Ohio has billions in unspent reserves as child well-being measures drop
Math and reading proficiency among Ohio’s students have stalled since the pandemic, and more students are qualifying for free or reduced-price school meals because of economic disadvantages at ...
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Child care
Nebraska has until Jan. 1 to opt in to food assistance for 150,000 children
Roughly one in eight Nebraskans who have experienced hunger is a child. The state has a chance to help their families afford groceries, but must ‘opt in’ to a federal program to do so. ...
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Child care
Midwestern Democratic governors take steps to fill gaps in child care after federal funds expire
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D), Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (DFL) and Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly (D) have all taken major steps in the past two weeks to fill child care funding gaps after billions of dollars in pandemic relief expired this month.
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Child care
Missouri gets jump in child care subsidy rates
An increase in child-care subsidy reimbursement rates up to 58% of market rate is being hailed as a big win for providers in Missouri. Sarah Gould is the early-childhood director for Community ...
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Child care
Ohio governor signs budget including no-cost school meals
More Ohio students who qualify for reduced-priced meals will now be able to eat breakfast and lunch at school, even if their families cannot pay for it, thanks to a provision in the $191 billion, ...
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Child care
Children’s advocates lament ‘missed opportunities’ by Texas lawmakers
A child advocacy group in Texas is already looking ahead to the 2025 legislative session, after several policy changes it supported this year failed to gain traction. The group Texans Care for ...
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