Hundreds of care providers gather at Missouri capitol for annual Child Advocacy Day
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Hundreds of parents and child advocacy groups made their voices heard at the Missouri state capitol Wednesday, as they called on legislators to continue to make child care a priority at the 43rd annual Child Advocacy Day.
The event comes amid continued budget talks in the Missouri House of Representatives. On Tuesday the Missouri House gave first round approval to a number of spending bills. As it stands, the proposed budget slashes more than $100 million in funding for child care providers.
According to Kids Win Missouri deputy director Casey Hanson, Gov. Mike Kehoe initially recommended at least an additional $100 million in funding go towards helping pay for child care. However, that has since been cut out by members of the House of Representatives.
“Children should be our priority and we need to invest in kids in Missouri,” Hanson said.
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