(The Center Square) – Improving access to child care in Missouri will be a priority for the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry and a state representative during the 2024 legislative session.
Rep. Brenda Shields, R-St. Joseph, participated in a recent Missouri Chamber forum on child care. Shields said she would reintroduce a bill with several types of tax credits to enhance child care throughout the state and the Missouri Chamber pledged to support the legislation, according to a media release.
Last year, Shields sponsored House Bill 870, which stalled during the final days of the session. Shields plans to introduce the same measure again next year.
“Our proposal really helps families and providers,” Shields said in an interview with The Center Square. “But our businesses are also feeling the effects of the lack of child care. They can’t find the workforce because parents can’t find reliable, affordable, safe and quality child care. Businesses tell us they can’t grow in our state because of the workforce. So our solution is for business to put some skin in the game. If they put skin in the game, the government will get involved and help.”
A 2021 report from the Missouri Chamber found 28% of respondents said they or someone in their household left a job or didn’t take a job due to problems with child care. Shields said additional research found approximately 30% of Missouri’s child care capacity was lost during the pandemic.
In addition to a tax credit for child care providers and eligible taxpayers for up to two qualifying children, Shields’ legislation includes a credit for employer-provided child care.
“We’re not trying to tell people they need to put their child in child care,” Shields said. “But we have families who want to work, some families where both parents are working and single parents need to work. We need to make sure children are cared for because 90% of brain development happens between the ages of zero and five. Quality is so important when parents are leaving their child with someone.”
Shields said finding child care in rural areas is increasingly difficult. Research by Childcare Aware of Missouri provided a map with approximately 77% of Missouri’s 114 counties considered “child care deserts.” Jamie Birch, Republican Gov. Mike Parson’s director of policy, told the Missouri Chamber the state’s child care industry can only serve 39% of children under age six.
“It will be an election year next year and difficult to pass some pieces of legislation,” Shields said. “But I know parents and businesses are sharing with their legislators that child care is an issue. It was an issue when my children were young 34 years ago. It definitely became a problem during the pandemic and we need to figure out a way to increase capacity and pay our providers better so we have quality people as child care providers.”
