skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Wednesday, July 3, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

CO nursing homes left in dark as utilities cut power to prevent wildfire; First Democrat in Congress calls on Biden to withdraw after debate; Report says abortion restrictions cost SD's economy $670 million annually; CT '988' hotline services rank high in national report; NE Winnebago Educare promotes children's well-being.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Sentencing is delayed in former President Trump's New York felony conviction, Democrats vow a legislative overhaul of the Supreme Court, and the last female GOP Senators are voted out of the South Carolina Legislature.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Ugly, imperfect produce destined for the landfill is being upcycled by a California candy company, a Texas volunteer uses his Navy training to map the gaps in broadband, and Pennsylvania has a new commission tasked with reversing its shrinking rural population.

Praise for MO Early Childhood Funding; Concerns About Sustainability, Gaps

play audio
Play

Monday, June 5, 2023   

Missourians scored some big wins for child care and pre-K programs in the 2023 legislative session, although some said it is just a start.

Brian Schmidt, executive director of the group Kids Win Missouri, called it a "really exciting time" for child care and early childhood education in the state. He attributes a lot of the legislative gains, including a combined $160 million for child care subsidies and pre-K programs, to the child care crisis exacerbated by the COVID pandemic.

"Seventy-three counties in Missouri are considered child care deserts," Schmidt pointed out. "I think it's really just an impact of the pandemic, where a lot of the child care facilities are just struggling to find and recruit a workforce."

Schmidt added Gov. Mike Parson identified expanding early-childhood programs as a priority. Ideally, he said, the $78.5 million to increase child care subsidies will be an incentive for more child care centers to take part in the subsidy program, increasing the options for low-income Missouri families. And regarding the additional $82 million for pre-K programs, Schmidt noted it "far exceeds" any previous legislative proposals for pre-K.

He added the pre-K funding was designed to provide families with options.

"Fifty-six million is for school districts, and then the other $26 million is for child care facilities," Schmidt outlined. "Families could potentially have some options to choose the setting that best fits their needs."

Robin Phillips, CEO of the nonprofit Child Care Aware of Missouri, lauded the funding but has concerns about what will happen when American Rescue Plan Act funds expire in a little more than a year.

She argued the child care system is a "broken business model," with no funding formula behind community-based child care. In addition to higher operating costs for food, gas, utilities and rent, Phillips pointed to providers' struggle to maintain a workforce.

"You have to have so many teachers for the number of children depending on the age range; you must have, for licensing," Phillips emphasized. "And yet, when you pay all those expenses, you're left with very little to pay teachers at about $12 an hour. That's not a livable wage."

Calling the child care system "very complex and layered," Phillips added a bridge needs to be built to keep the progress going.

"There are great and significant investments happening, and we still have a lot of work to do," Phillips acknowledged. "Because two years, three years of federal relief money doesn't fix 40 years of fragmentation."


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Environmentalists say the plastics and fossil fuel industries driving plastic pollution and related problems have made false promises about efforts to address the pollution. (aryfahmed/Adobe Stock)

play sound

Environmental groups in Texas are backing a proposed global plastics treaty set to be finalized by the end of the year. The treaty aims to minimize …


Environment

play sound

A decision from the U.S. Supreme Court protects Idaho rivers from what conservation groups say are harmful mining practices. The justices rejected a …

Social Issues

play sound

A University of Nevada-Las Vegas law professor said the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court has issued major decisions dramatically …


Immokalee is an unincorporated area in Collier County, Florida, one of the major centers of tomato production in the United States. (Immokalee Foundation)

Social Issues

play sound

A series of free summer camps focused on STEM and other career paths seeks to boost the career goals of youth in the agricultural community of Immokal…

Environment

play sound

By Kate Ruder for KFF Health News.Broadcast version by Eric Galatas for Colorado News Connection reporting for the KFF Health News-Public News Service…

Fireworks and dry, hot weather are never a good combination. Last year, in Portland alone, fireworks ignited 46 fires, according to Portland Fire & Rescue. (Mickis Fotowelt/Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Local fire crews across Oregon will be working to limit the number of manmade fires in the state on what looks to be the hottest weekend of the year s…

Health and Wellness

play sound

Abortion bans and restrictions limit women's participation in the workforce, according to a new analysis that quantifies the negative impacts on …

Environment

play sound

A federal court judge in Montana blocked a large project which would have logged or clear-cut more than 10,000 acres of old-growth forest and threaten…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021