Missouri child care subsidies have been fully restored following a pause ordered by the Trump administration last week. State officials say providers receiving money from child care subsidies can expect to receive delayed funds by Friday.
The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education submitted additional justifications for the funds last week, following a notice from the federal government on Thursday requesting more information.
The department said over half of Missouri child care providers were affected by delays in the state’s Child Care and Development Fund, which halted funding for invoices submitted between December 30 and January 12.
“We know how important these payments are to providers, and this is our utmost priority,” said Office of Childhood Assistant Commissioner Deidre Anderson-Barbee in a statement. “Thank you for your patience, understanding, and commitment to the children and families of Missouri.”
More than 90% of funding for Missouri child care subsidies comes from the federal government, according to the current fiscal year budget. Tamyka Perine, executive director of the Gateway Early Childhood Alliance, said the Missouri families who rely on child care subsidies to pay for care were left with few options.
“Providers were already burdened by staffing issues, and this exacerbated that,” Perine said. “I hope that having this happen was a wake up call for a lot of people around how important it is for us to support the child care community in our families, and also how important it is to think about how our state is funding child care.”
Perine said some child care facilities closed as a result of the funding freeze, meaning some families have sent their children to other providers while the closed facilities work to reopen.
The Trump administration paused child care subsidies in several states after a pro-Trump influencer recently accused a Somali-owned Minneapolis daycare of fraud. The freeze included $10 billion in child care and other social service funds for five Democrat-led states, including Illinois.
Those five states have filed a lawsuit against the administration to have the funds restored. A federal judge on Friday granted the states’ request for a temporary restraining order preventing the freeze until the case plays out in court.
