State Child Care Assistance Policies 2010: Missouri

•    Income eligibility limit: In 2010, a family of three in Missouri could qualify for child care assistance with an annual income up to $23,520 (128 percent of poverty, 42 percent of state median income).¹

•    Waiting list: Missouri had no waiting list for child care assistance as of February 2010.     

•    Parent copayments: In 2010, a family of three with an income at 100 percent of poverty ($18,310 a year) receiving child care assistance paid $110 per month, or 7 percent of its income in copayments.

•    Reimbursement rates: In 2010, Missouri’s reimbursement rates for child care providers serving families receiving child care assistance were below the federally recommended level—the 75th percentile of current market rates, which is the level designed to give families access to 75 percent of the providers in their community.
o    Missouri’s monthly reimbursement rate for center care for a four-year-old in the St. Louis metropolitan area was $423, or 55 percent, below the 75th percentile of current market rates for this type of care.
o    Missouri’s monthly reimbursement rate for center care for a one-year-old in the St. Louis metropolitan area was $335, or 36 percent, below the 75th percentile of current market rates for this type of care.

•    Tiered reimbursement rates: In 2010, Missouri paid higher reimbursement rates for higher-quality care.
o    The reimbursement rate for center care for a four-year-old in the St. Louis metropolitan area at the highest quality tier was 20 percent higher than the rate at the lowest quality tier.
o    The reimbursement rate for center care for a four-year-old in the St. Louis metropolitan area at the highest quality tier was still below the 75th percentile of current market rates.

•    Eligibility for parents searching for a job: As of May 1, 2010, Missouri allowed parents to qualify for or continue receiving child care assistance for up to 8 weeks while searching for a job.²

¹In 2010, families already receiving assistance could continue doing so until their income reached $25,740.
²This policy will be in effect while American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding is available or until September 30, 2011, whichever occurs first. At that point, the state will revert to its previous policy, which allows parents receiving child care assistance to continue receiving it while searching for a job for up to only 4 weeks, and does not allow parents to qualify for child care assistance while searching for a job.

Source: Karen Schulman and Helen Blank, State Child Care Assistance Policies 2010: New Federal Funds Help States Weather the Storm (Washington, DC: National Women’s Law Center, 2010). These data reflect policies as of February 2010, unless otherwise indicated.