Mo. House panel backs child care subsidy change

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A Missouri House committee has endorsed legislation that would let some low-income families earn more money without losing their state subsidies for child care.

The bill would create a pilot program to test the idea. Families whose income rises above the threshold for subsidized child care would keep the benefit but pay 44 percent of the excess income to the state as a "premium."

Proponents say Missouri's current guidelines for child care subsidies encourage recipients to work less and earn less than they are able to.

The measure has already won approval in the Senate. It now goes to the full House.

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Child care benefits bill SB727

Online:

Legislature: http://www.moga.mo.gov