Proposal would help more families with child-care costs

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- More poor families could get help paying for child care under legislation a Senate committee began considering Tuesday.

The committee heard from a slew of early childhood advocates who shared stories of people forced to go without raises and promotions to avoid losing their government-subsidized child-care assistance or quitting work entirely because they had to care for their children.

The proposal would raise the income threshold to qualify for state subsidies to up to 130 percent of the federal poverty level, which amounts to $22,321 a year for a single mother with two children.

Missouri currently ranks last in the nation in its income level to qualify for child-care help, capping assistance for a family of three at about $18,000 a year, or 110 percent of poverty, the Department of Social Services said.

Sen. Chris Koster, R-Harrisonville, told fellow lawmakers the state must do better if it wants to encourage poor people to take low-paying jobs.

"There is no other state in the country that is as miserly as Missouri," he said. "This is how we as conservatives add credibility to our insistence that these people go out and work at Sheraton, at McDonald's."

The proposal also would provide limited assistance for those between 130 percent and 185 percent of the federal poverty level, or $31,765 for a family of three.

The change, Koster said, would bump Missouri from last to 46th in the nation and comes with a hefty price tag -- $76 million.

The current child-care subsidy program covers about 40,000 children at a cost of $178 million, including federal funds, the Department of Social Services said.

Gov. Matt Blunt's proposed budget does not increase the income threshold to qualify for subsidies. On Tuesday, he did not endorse the proposal but said he was open to discussions.

"I'm willing to work with legislators within the context of a balanced budget," he said.

Cassaundra Samuels, 36, a single mother of six, said she would benefit if the income threshold increased. Samuels works for the Internal Revenue Service in Kansas City, and five of her children attend the Operation Break Through child care program while she works. But when her salary increased, she was forced to cut back to 25 hours a week or lose her child care subsidy.

"I was able to keep it, but I wasn't able to pay anything else," she said.

That loss of pay led her to fall behind in her rent, and she was nearly evicted. Some local social services groups were able to step in and help with her rent. She now has returned to working 40 hours a week and paying her bills, and Operation Break Through is giving her free child care.

But if the Legislature raises the income threshold, she said she should again qualify for state help.

The proposal doesn't change the amount the state pays child care centers for children receiving the subsidy, which one provider said averages about $22 a day, but it varies depending on the child's age, the type of care and the region of the state. Koster said his priority is helping more people qualify for the assistance.

Child care groups and providers said helping more families is crucial.

"It's really overdue," said Sister Berta Sailer, who founded Operation Break Through, which cares for more than 600 children.

Sailer said that five years ago, all those children qualified for state assistance, but now only about half do despite being eligible for other social services.

"We have to help these mothers get out of this," she said. "Things that are important need to be taken care of."

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Child care bills are SB260 and SB71.

On the Net:

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