EXCERPT FROM: KansasCity.com
By Jason Noble
JEFFERSON CITY | A Missouri House committee slashed nearly $60 million from social-service programs in next year’s budget, including funding for health clinics, child care subsidies and assistance to victims of domestic violence.

EXCERPT FROM: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
By Nancy Cambria
Loree Phelps thought she had the recession beat.
The accredited Richmond Heights child care center she runs catered largely to professionals, and she had an eight-month waiting list for the infant room.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A new report finds that Missouri is among the most stringent nationally in providing child-care subsidies to low-income workers.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon released a statement this afternoon directing the state Department of Health and Senior Services not to follow through on a Thursday state Board of Health recommendation rescinding hundreds of rules governing the operation of faith-based child care centers in the state.

Missouri's rules governing safety in church-based day cares have long been criticized as too lenient by many in the child-care field.

With day care a necessity for many parents, there are big differences in the types of day cares parents can take their children to.

COLUMBIA - The Missouri Department of Social Services has proposed new regulations for day care centers.  

JEFFERSON CITY | Lawmakers spent several hours today debating an omnibus education bill. And then they killed it.

Day care sticker shock putting your finances in a tailspin? Worried about the safety of your young children while you work? Should affordable early childhood education be available to every child in Missouri?