Governor addresses child care 'deserts' in Cape Girardeau remarks

Gov. Mike Parson took special note of a commitment made five months ago to elevate child care to a "top priority" of his administration in a keynote address at the Tuesday, May 23, Hawthorn Foundation board meeting at University Center on the Southeast Missouri State University campus in Cape Girardeau.

In Parson's Jan. 18 State of the State address to Missouri lawmakers, he proposed $78 million to help low-income, working families secure child care along with a tax credit program to encourage employers to provide child care assistance to their workers.

"Fifty percent of Missouri is what we call a 'desert' area with no outlet for child care," Parson said Tuesday.

"If you talk to employees, one of their main issues is child care, and we have 55,000 state workers who are concerned about it. It's expensive, it's hard to find, it takes people away from work and we have to address it," he added.

Missouri Champion of Children Coalition, made up of child advocates, business groups, law enforcement, health care advocates and community leaders, praised Parson's child care focus in a Feb. 1 news release.

"Gov. Parson is right. There is no better investment for our state than in our kids and no better time than now," said Brian Schmidt, executive director of Kids Win Missouri.

"We're thrilled to see Governor Parson make child care and early education a priority in his budget."

Dan Mehan, president/CEO of Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, echoed Schmidt's view.

"Businesses across Missouri are struggling to find workers, and it's clear that the state's growing child care crisis is at the center of the problem," he said.

Parson took it one step further. "We've made one of the largest investments in child care in our state's history and there's more we've got to do. This commitment will be a game changer because the reality is if a kid gets sick and child care isn't available, the parent has to stay home from work and take care of him. Rightfully so, of course, but it also means Mom or Dad can't go to the job -- which means production levels drop. We've got to do a better job on this.

"I really don't see this as controversial, but in getting child care reform past the finish line, it got tangled up with a lot of other things at the end of the legislative session," he added.

State lawmakers adjourned May 12 for the summer. At adjournment, all bills under consideration expire.

Of note

Hawthorn Foundation, founded in 1981 and named for the state flower, has a perpetual fund for the sitting Missouri governor to use for travel in promoting the state overseas.

Foundation delegations also visit other U.S. states to learn best practices and to collaborate with innovators working on similar public/private partnerships.