Expect Renewed Push For Childcare Tax Breaks In Missouri Next Year

Missouri’s lack of daycare options will once again be a hot topic when lawmakers return to Jefferson City for next year’s legislative session.

A survey published two years ago by the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry says 28 percent of respondents claim they or someone in their household either quit a job or turned down a job offer because they lacked access to affordable childcare.

Republican State Rep. Brenda Shields of St. Joseph told a recent forum in Kansas City that lack of access is in fact a crisis.

Shields sponsored a bill earlier this year to create tax breaks designed to increase childcare access, but it didn’t make it to the governor’s desk.