Business leaders gathered on Friday, April 17th to attend a Lunch and Learn for the community to learn more about the State of Missouri’s childcare support program, Child Care Works, hosted by the Perry County Economic Development Authority. Child Care Works is an innovative cost sharing program that allows families, employers, philanthropy and the public sector to share in the costs of quality childcare. Families benefit from significantly reduced childcare costs and providers receive stable, reliable funding streams that support sustainability, creating opportunities to expand services and slots. Employers gain enhanced recruitment capabilities in a competitive labor market and improved employee retention, less absenteeism, and more productivity from employees with stable childcare.
A survey completed in 2025 identifies several challenges with childcare availability in Perry County. Over half of survey respondents cited a change in work schedule, including leaving work early, missing shifts, or being late to work to accommodate childcare. Over 25% took a new job solely to accommodate childcare or did not pursue education opportunities due to lack of childcare.
Affordability is also a concern with many respondents considering leaving the workforce all together because childcare costs are equal to or more than one parent’s salary. However, childcare providers must increase revenues to sustain cost increases in wages, food costs, regulatory burdens, and other expenses. Already understaffed, providers are unable to expand their operations to add more slots as the labor shortage issues plague them as well.
While Child Care Works is not the only possible solution, it is one where some employers can receive a federal tax credit for participating and could potentially share their portion of the costs with the State of Missouri. This program helps stabilize revenues for childcare providers and helps address affordability for families.
In the State of Missouri’s 2026 budget, $2.5M was added to support Child Care Works. The proposed 2027 budget includes an increase to $5M, pending the Governor’s signature. This increase demonstrates that the legislature believes this program to be critical to supporting childcare across Missouri. Childcare is a workforce development strategy and one that is critical to attracting and retaining businesses in a community.
If you are a business leader interested in learning how you can participate in Child Care Works, please contact Crystal Jones at the Perry County Economic Development Authority at 573-547-1097.
