Blunt plans to expand child care to more poor families

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Gov. Matt Blunt plans to expand a program that provides child care to poor working families through savings following an investigation of problems in the program.

Blunt announced that a yearlong investigation of the state's child care program found a host of problems, from paying for care for the same child twice to paying for a child who's no longer at a day care center.

As the state discovered such problems, it quit making improper payments to providers, and the savings should amount to $19.5 million in the current fiscal year, which ends June 30, spokeswoman Jessica Robinson said Friday.

Blunt told the Department of Social Services, which oversees the child-care program, to redirect some of that money to raise the income cutoff for families to qualify for state-subsidized child care, from 108 to 126 percent of the federal poverty level. The new level will now be $26,019 for a family of four, which Blunt's office said would help another 3,348 children.

"This is an example of what better management and oversight can mean for important programs like child care," Blunt said in a written statement.

The current child-care subsidy program covers about 40,000 children at a cost of $178 million, including federal funds, the Department of Social Services said.

The administration can make the changes within the department, and does not need a change in law, Robinson said. Additional families should be able to receive child care sometime in the spring.

The proposal doesn't go as far as some lawmakers have proposed. Senate legislation would raise the income threshold to qualify for state subsidies to 130 percent of the federal poverty level, or $26,845 for a family of four. It also would provide limited assistance for those between 130 percent and 185 percent of the federal poverty level, or a family of four earning less than $38,203.

But that idea comes with a hefty price tag of more than $76 million and is estimated to add at least 25,000 children to the program.

Missouri currently ranks last in the nation in its income level to qualify for child care help, and Sen. Chris Koster, R-Harrisonville, said his proposal would only bump the state up to 46th.

Blunt's plan, on the other hand, expands assistance on a smaller scale without increasing his budget proposal. His spokeswoman said Friday that while the governor believes his plan is an important step, he would still discuss legislators' ideas.

"He's willing to consider things within the confines of a balanced budget," Robinson said. "But this is something that is valuable for the children of our state, that we're going to be able to expand care without expanding the cost to provide that care."

Blunt also plans to increase the amount the state pays child care providers for such children by 5 percent, which could encourage day cares to accept more state-subsidized children. Some have complained that the state's payment is too low.

He's also spending $4 million to enhance technology, replacing a paper attendance tracking system with an electronic one that should reduce errors.