AUTHOR: Crystal Fontaine

Children are our most precious gifts on this Earth. They make us laugh, cry, angry, and just plain speechless at times. Yet, above all else, children fill us with love and devotion. This devotion to our children creates a need to make sure that they receive good quality care and a safe, clean environment.

The State of Missouri has developed a Quality Rating System for early childhood and before-and-after school programs licensed by the Department of Health and Senior Services which is to be developed by September 1, 2008. This quality rating system, under bill SB726, will be based off of similar pilots designed by the University of Missouri Center for Family Policy. Parents will have the ability to evaluate child care programs and easy access to the ratings of the quality evaluation system as they will be provided on the internet to the public.

The bill offers more than just the ability to rate the quality of childcare facilities. A tiered system of reimbursement for child care facilities will be developed by the Coordinating Board of Early Childhood. Subsequently, the proposed reimbursement plan will be submitted to the General Assembly and will take affect only after it has been authorized. Furthermore, bill SB726 implements the Quality Rating System Improvement Grant Fund. The funding encompasses all gifts, donations, moneys appropriated by the General Assembly, etc. The Improvement Grant Fund will provide this money to any certified provider seeking quality enhancement.

The act also states that the Children’s Division within the Department of Social Services will modify the income eligibility criteria for receiving financial assistance. This allows families that have earnings that are below 160% of the poverty level to obtain subsidy benefits. These benefits are to be distributed based on a sliding scale fee for children. However, the fee may be waived for children with special needs. A waiting list may be established if there is not enough money to distribute as well as a set of rules explaining the prioritizing of families who receive the funds. In addition, the bill shall create the Child Care and Development Fund, which consist of money received by the Federal Child Care and the Development Block Program.

It should be noted that certain neighborhood youth development programs will be exempt from the child care licensing requirements as long as the programs follow the provisions of the bill. These provisions within the bill allows for quality child care through improvements in facilities as well as the necessary funding. Every child deserves the finest quality that can be provided.