{"id":9257,"date":"2026-04-27T05:50:43","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T10:50:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/27\/state-funding-uncertainty-forces-missouri-childcare-centers-to-weigh-their-options\/"},"modified":"2026-04-27T05:50:43","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T10:50:43","slug":"state-funding-uncertainty-forces-missouri-childcare-centers-to-weigh-their-options","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/27\/state-funding-uncertainty-forces-missouri-childcare-centers-to-weigh-their-options\/","title":{"rendered":"State funding uncertainty forces Missouri childcare centers to weigh their options"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"637\" src=\"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/69ea4eb960248.image_.jpg-1024x637.webp\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><figcaption>\n<p>Seeds of Faith Preschool in Clinton (photo submitted).<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"subscriber-preview\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Nicci Rexroat, owner of A Place To Grow pre-kindergarten center, has worked in child care for 19 years, and she\u2019s beginning to believe most of Missouri has become a child care desert.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cYou know, I have families calling me every day looking for spots, and we\u2019re full in Jefferson City until August of 2027,\u201d Rexroat said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tncms-region hidden-print\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Rexroat opened A Place To Grow in Holts Summit in 2015 before adding two locations in New Bloomfield and Jefferson City in 2023. Since her initial opening she\u2019s received subsidies from the state that help families pay their tuition expenses.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Over time, she said she has seen the number of families in need of extra help increase exponentially.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cI think one of the big problems is that the economy is a little tighter,\u201d Rexroat said. \u201cEverything is more expensive.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Last month, the Missouri House proposed a $51.5 million cut to the child care subsidy program that would have specifically targeted enhancement services that help low-income children, including those in foster care, receive quality care. The cut also would have made it harder for accredited day cares to pay staff who meet higher education requirements.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">But the Missouri Senate restored that funding in its version of the budget bills passed on Wednesday. That could still be changed by the House or vetoed by Gov. Mike Kehoe before the budget is signed into law.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The child care subsidy program <a href=\"https:\/\/dese.mo.gov\/missouri-implement-waitlist-child-care-assistance-amid-record-demand\" target=\"_blank\">provides assistance to more than 27,000<\/a> families, according to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. In order <a href=\"https:\/\/dese.mo.gov\/childhood\/child-care-subsidy\/families#:~:text=In%20order%20to%25\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">to receive support<\/a>, families must have children under the age of 13, be below 150% of the federal poverty line and need child care to work. Once a family is deemed eligible by the Office of Childhood, they are connected with an approved subsidy provider. Subsidy funds are later distributed to that provider by the state based on a set rate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cIt is kind of like a voucher for families to have child care,\u201d said Casey Hanson, deputy director of Kids Win Missouri.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The number of families that qualify for the program has increased by 19% since January of 2025, <a href=\"https:\/\/dese.mo.gov\/missouri-implement-waitlist-child-care-assistance-amid-record-demand\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">according to DESE<\/a>, which led the Office of Childhood to begin implementing a program waitlist in March.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Hanson said the increase is most likely due to current economic conditions and possibly a surge in the number of children enrolled in child care since the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">She said she hopes when people look at the number of families on the waitlist they remember why the program exists.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cSubsidy is a program for working families, for families that are in school, for families that are in job training, and for our foster and adoptive families,\u201d Hanson said. \u201cThese are families that need childcare to be able to care for their children, to be able to thrive on their own as a family.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">If the cut would have gone into effect, Rexroat feared she would have had to limit the number of services she provides.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cWe will have to lower the amount of foster care children that we can provide services to, which is not great for anyone and is not why we\u2019re in the business of early childhood,\u201d Rexroat said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Rexroat has been in the process of gaining accreditation at all three of her centers over the past couple years. She promised her staff a bump in pay if they were to meet accreditation requirements.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The uncertainty surrounding the potential budget cuts have made her doubt her ability to follow through.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cI am worried about staff retention if I can\u2019t deliver on that promise,\u201d Rexroat said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Seeds of Faith Preschool in Clinton has been accredited for three years. Owner Amber Hansen did not expect her center to not be as heavily impacted by the cuts, but was concerned about how other providers would be impacted further down the line.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cWe may not see it in the next three months, but I mean, a lot of child care centers are hurting across the state right now,\u201d Hansen said. \u201cYou got to think about food cost, you got to think about keeping the lights on. We have bills too.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Hanson of Kids Win Missouri said even with funding being restored by the state Senate, there is still a long road ahead. However, she feels there\u2019s more understanding of the issue at hand.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cWe still have a child care crisis happening, we still have a waitlist, I think everyone understands there\u2019s got to be further discussions around how we can try to balance maximizing access for families, getting that wait list reduced but also ensuring that we\u2019re sustaining our providers,\u201d Hanson said.<\/p>\n<p><em>This story originally appeared in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.missouribusinessalert.com\/government\/state-funding-uncertainty-forces-child-care-centers-to-weigh-their-options\/article_e9b826e9-2cd3-46e6-bb1a-f2d6cbac421e.html\" target=\"_blank\">Missouri Business Alert<\/a>, a digital newsroom covering businessand the economy in Missouri.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Seeds of Faith Preschool in Clinton (photo submitted). Nicci Rexroat, owner of A Place To Grow pre-kindergarten center, has worked in child care for 19 years, and she\u2019s beginning to believe most of Missouri has become a child care desert. \u201cYou know, I have families calling me every day looking for spots, and we\u2019re full&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9258,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>State funding uncertainty forces Missouri childcare centers to weigh their options - WestplexNews.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/27\/state-funding-uncertainty-forces-missouri-childcare-centers-to-weigh-their-options\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"State funding uncertainty forces Missouri childcare centers to weigh their options - WestplexNews.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Seeds of Faith Preschool in Clinton (photo submitted). Nicci Rexroat, owner of A Place To Grow pre-kindergarten center, has worked in child care for 19 years, and she\u2019s beginning to believe most of Missouri has become a child care desert. \u201cYou know, I have families calling me every day looking for spots, and we\u2019re full...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/27\/state-funding-uncertainty-forces-missouri-childcare-centers-to-weigh-their-options\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"WestplexNews.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-27T10:50:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/69ea4eb960248.image_.jpg-1024x637.webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Brad Hildebrand\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Brad Hildebrand\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/westplexnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/27\\\/state-funding-uncertainty-forces-missouri-childcare-centers-to-weigh-their-options\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/westplexnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/27\\\/state-funding-uncertainty-forces-missouri-childcare-centers-to-weigh-their-options\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Brad Hildebrand\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/westplexnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/86ac6e2a917ca881b22f6d55d1b955f0\"},\"headline\":\"State funding uncertainty forces Missouri childcare centers to weigh their options\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-27T10:50:43+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/westplexnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/27\\\/state-funding-uncertainty-forces-missouri-childcare-centers-to-weigh-their-options\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":804,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/westplexnews.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/westplexnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/27\\\/state-funding-uncertainty-forces-missouri-childcare-centers-to-weigh-their-options\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/westplexnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/69ea4eb960248.image_.jpg-1024x637-UYHCJ1.webp\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/westplexnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/27\\\/state-funding-uncertainty-forces-missouri-childcare-centers-to-weigh-their-options\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/westplexnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/27\\\/state-funding-uncertainty-forces-missouri-childcare-centers-to-weigh-their-options\\\/\",\"name\":\"State funding uncertainty forces Missouri childcare centers to weigh their options - 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Nicci Rexroat, owner of A Place To Grow pre-kindergarten center, has worked in child care for 19 years, and she\u2019s beginning to believe most of Missouri has become a child care desert. \u201cYou know, I have families calling me every day looking for spots, and we\u2019re full...","og_url":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/27\/state-funding-uncertainty-forces-missouri-childcare-centers-to-weigh-their-options\/","og_site_name":"WestplexNews.com","article_published_time":"2026-04-27T10:50:43+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/69ea4eb960248.image_.jpg-1024x637.webp","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Brad Hildebrand","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Brad Hildebrand","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/27\/state-funding-uncertainty-forces-missouri-childcare-centers-to-weigh-their-options\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/27\/state-funding-uncertainty-forces-missouri-childcare-centers-to-weigh-their-options\/"},"author":{"name":"Brad Hildebrand","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/86ac6e2a917ca881b22f6d55d1b955f0"},"headline":"State funding uncertainty forces Missouri childcare centers to weigh their options","datePublished":"2026-04-27T10:50:43+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/27\/state-funding-uncertainty-forces-missouri-childcare-centers-to-weigh-their-options\/"},"wordCount":804,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/27\/state-funding-uncertainty-forces-missouri-childcare-centers-to-weigh-their-options\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/69ea4eb960248.image_.jpg-1024x637-UYHCJ1.webp","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/27\/state-funding-uncertainty-forces-missouri-childcare-centers-to-weigh-their-options\/","url":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/27\/state-funding-uncertainty-forces-missouri-childcare-centers-to-weigh-their-options\/","name":"State funding uncertainty forces Missouri childcare centers to weigh their options - 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