KANSAS CITY, MO – November 20, 2024 – A new state of Missouri research study, commissioned by United WE and conducted by researchers from the Institute of Public Policy at the University of Missouri, reveals childcare provider licensing can be time-consuming, costly and the required regulatory processes are hampered by facilities’ staffing shortages and turnover. These barriers come at a time when there are nearly three times as many Missouri children, aged six or under, than childcare slots.
Access to reliable, quality childcare has long been a concern for working parents across the nation and has become more problematic since the COVID-19 pandemic. Of Missouri families with children, 291,530 children (71%) have employed parents. Despite the number of working families in the state that need childcare, 85% of Missouri counties have more than three children under the age of six per licensed child care slot, which by definition classifies them as being in a childcare desert.*
“With our children’s health and safety at the forefront, we believe licensing challenges are creating barriers for providers to address the significant need for more quality childcare in the state of Missouri. We know from previous focus groups we’ve conducted with childcare providers that they’re struggling to stay open, meet state and federal licensing requirements and pay a living wage,” says Wendy Doyle, President & CEO of United WE, a nonpartisan organization with a mission to advance all women’s economic and civic leadership. “This critical research identifies legislative efficiencies that will ensure Missouri can help resolve the current childcare crisis and harness the full potential of women in the workforce to drive economic growth and prosperity for the entire state.”
Based on interviews with state childcare licensing staff and childcare providers, the most time-consuming and costly regulations for providers to implement during the initial licensing process are those that require renovations, such as Missouri fire and sanitation requirements. Providers are responsible for contacting local authorities about additional county- or municipal-level regulations, which are not uniformly available via city/county websites or phone calls to local officials.
“This research describes the childcare licensing process at the state and local level and examines whether there are characteristics of the licensing process that make opening a new childcare program or continuing to operate a licensed program overly burdensome,” says Emily Johnson, Associate Director of Operations at University of Missouri’s Institute of Public Policy. “Adequate childcare resources are an investment in the well-being of Missouri families and the intent of this research is to highlight the childcare gaps that can ultimately address challenges with childcare licensing for the economic strength of the state.”
Researchers provided policy and practice recommendations which include:
Community
Local mentoring networks to support childcare entrepreneurs during the initial licensing process
Regional and local communication channels for childcare providers during the initial licensing process
Online resources for providers to easily access local licensing requirements
Legislative
Explore legislative actions to replace discontinued ARPA funding to childcare
Create a pre-licensing requirement of participation in programs such as the Missouri Supporting Early Childhood Administrators (MO-SECA) training as part of the initial licensing process
Administrative
Develop a specialized team of Inspectors to focus on guiding providers through the initial licensing process
Establish a task force to examine administrative burden (for both providers and licensing staff) embedded in the licensing process and make recommendations
Adopt a centralized child care program management system to simplify and streamline business operations and paperwork
The full Missouri Childcare Licensing research study is the United WE Institute’s 36th research study and is available here.
As part of United WE’s Women’s Entrepreneur Childcare Project, the organization also released national state-by-state childcare licensing research to provide a high-level overview of state-level licensing regulations and recommendations for policy changes. The nationwide research is available as part of the Institute here.
*Malik, R., Hamm, K., and Adamu, M. (2016, October). Child care deserts: An analysis of child care centers by ZIP code in 8 states. Center for American Progress. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/child-care-deserts/