Backlog of Missouri's payments to childcare providers may be done in October

(The Center Square) – Delays in childcare subsidy payments drew significant attention in Jefferson City during this week’s veto session in the Missouri House of Representatives.

Approximately 2,000 childcare providers serving more than 22,000 children throughout Missouri haven’t received payments due to problems with new computer software. Rep. Brad Politt, R-Sedalia and Chairman of the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee, held a special committee hearing on the matter on Tuesday to get a better understanding of the problem and when it will be solved.

“I understand you’re frustrated,” Politt said before a full hearing room with parents and providers at the start of the two-hour hearing. “I understand that and so does the department. Your way of life has been altered and your businesses have been hurt.”

Leaders with the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education stated the computer software problem should be fixed in four weeks and the backlog of payments should be resolved by mid-October. The problem started in 2023 when a new software system was rolled out with the promise of greater transparency for parents and providers. The department reduced a 19-page application to three pages and removed it from other state social services programs applications.

“There are payments happening,” Kari Monsees, the deputy commissioner of finance and administrative services in the department, told the committee. “Last month, we sent out $19.7 million in subsidy payments. Unfortunately, not every provider saw the full amount the expected to see.”

Monsees said approximately 22,000 children were in the August payment cycle, which is similar to months before the computer problem.

“We think we’re getting close in terms of normal monthly activity,” Monsees said. “But, again, we have these backlogs that we need to address and clean up.”

Karla Eslinger, a former state senator who became commissioner of the department this summer, acknowledged the gravity of the failure.

“We know this issue really and truly impacts your constituents, our providers, the vendors and most importantly the most vulnerable children across our state,” Eslinger told the committee. “For years and years, all of us together—legislators, governors, business leaders, the chamber, educational leaders—have worked to increase the availability and access to affordable and high-quality childcare for all of our children. It’s a very said time when our efforts to put together a more transparent system to support our current providers and to enhance opportunities for our parents failed so miserably.”

Rep. Kathy Steinhoff, D-Columbia and the ranking minority member on the committee, said the setback had widespread effects.

“We relied on a system that did just the opposite of what we wanted,” Steinhoff said. “It bankrupted providers. We have even less childcare options than we've had before. We left our families looking for ways to be helped with this. These disruptions not only affect our families and our children and our providers, but our communities.”