Missouri lawmakers once again look for ways to make child care more accessible
Rep. Brenda Shields. R-St. Joseph, speaks during debate in the Missouri House during the 2021 legislative session (Tim Bommel/Missouri House Communications).
A bill focused on making child care more affordable through tax credits was debated Tuesday by the Missouri House Committee of Economic Development.
Introduced by state Rep. Brenda Shields, a Republican from St. Joseph, the bill seeks to make child care more accessible for employees in Missouri, thereby creating a reliable workforce for businesses as working parents have options for their children while they are at work.
The bill outlines three potential tax credits:
- For a parent paying for child care, a 75% tax credit for funds paid to a child care provider to improve the quality of childcare facilities, employee training and salaries.
- For a child care provider, a 30% tax credit similar to the Missouri Works program for use of capital for the improvement and upkeep of facilities.
- For an employer-provided child care assistance tax program, a 30% tax credit providing child care services and costs in-house.
All the tax credits apply to large and small businesses, but child care providers must register with the state to be eligible to participate in any phase of the tax credit program.
Each tax credit will be capped at $20 million from all applicants and has to be used in a child care desert, which is an area that has a poverty rate of at least 20% and 33% of its population is not located near a child care facility.
According to ChildCare Aware of Missouri, rural areas across Missouri are mainly affected, with 72 out of 115 counties in a childcare desert.
All of the tax credits will be processed through the Office of Childhood Development and will have a six-year lifespan.
“This isn’t government creating child care, but it’s local businesses, churches, family houses, group homes, who will create the care that their community needs,” Shields said.
This is the fourth time the bill was heard by the committee. While the House has approved similar bills in recent years, they have consistently died in the Senate.
In Missouri, there is a 64% labor participation rate with unemployment rates of 3.9.
House members say they are seeking to increase the labor participation rate by providing more options for child care so working parents don’t have to decrease their time in the workforce because of child care concerns.
Shields said Missouri loses $1.35 billion in revenue each year because of the lack of child care as working parents prioritize their children’s needs over work.
“I truly believe,” Shields said, “the most important infrastructure (employers) can have for businesses and recruitment to our state is where we say, ‘If you come to our state we can take care of your employees’ children.’”
This story originally appeared in the Columbia Missourian. It can be republished in print or online.
