Heartland families are caught in a child care squeeze
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An analysis from the Center for American Progress finds 46% of American families with young children live in a child care desert, and Missouri and Kansas are both grappling with how to fix it.
Why it matters: When families can't find or afford child care, parents are often forced to cut work hours, leave jobs or delay returning to the workforce altogether.
Driving the news: Missouri's Child Care Subsidy Program implemented a new waitlist starting March 1 after a 19% surge in qualifying families since January 2025.
- The waitlist grew 60% in one week of March 2026 alone.
- More than 1,500 Missouri families are now on the waitlist, per KOMU.
Zoom in: The Missouri House passed a bill on April 2 creating three new tax credit programs. The bill is now in the Missouri Senate, and the Greater Kansas City Chamber endorsed it:
- 75% credit for individuals, businesses and nonprofits that donate to a licensed child care provider, up to $200,000 a year.
- 30% credit for employers with two or more workers that help cover their employees' child care costs.
- Provider credit equal to payroll tax withholdings, plus up to 30% of facility upgrades. Each program is capped at $20 million a year.
The other side: Democratic lawmakers say the package would cost the state nearly $70 million in annual revenue without guaranteeing more affordable child care slots.
- They argue that the credits mainly benefit donors and businesses with the resources to claim them, not the families who need the care.
On the Kansas side, Gov. Laura Kelly signed a bill creating a new Office of Early Childhood while loosening licensing rules.
- The law lets one person, 18 or older, care for up to four children (no more than two infants) for fewer than 35 hours a week without a license, per the State Child Death Review Board.
- The board's 2025 annual report found that nine of 16 child care fatalities over the past five years occurred in unlicensed settings, and called on the 2026 Legislature to require licensing for nearly all home-based providers.
- The most remote rural areas are the most strapped: 70% of families with young children in those regions face shortages, per CAP.
The bottom line: Two states, two different bets on the same problem. Missouri is leaning on tax credits to grow supply. Kansas is loosening rules to grow it. KC families are watching both.