Child Care Aware of Missouri Releases 2025 Child Care Report

ST. LOUIS - Jan. 22, 2025 - PRLog -- Child Care Aware of Missouri (CCAMO) recently released its "Child Care Landscape in Missouri" report which examines the region's child care system from 2020 to 2024.

The up-to-date report explores how Missouri's child care system has been significantly shaped by the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Various challenges addressed include an increase in child care deserts, child care affordability, limited resource accessibility, and the expiration of federally funded programs like the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

Founded in 1999, CCAMO is a statewide nonprofit organization that focuses on comprehensive early childhood education and its impact on families, child care professionals, businesses, and communities. CCAMO holds exclusive statewide licenses for Show Me Child Care Resources, a web-based portal providing more than 2,000 resources for child care educators and business owners, as well as T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood Missouri Scholarship Program, which has awarded more than 2,600 scholarships across Missouri since its inception.

CCAMO's report provides researched solutions and actionable recommendations such as expanding affordable care access with a focus on rural and underserved areas; investing in workforce retention through better wages and benefits; sustaining public funding to stabilize and grow the sector; and promoting innovative child care models to meet diverse family needs.

"Our detailed analysis depicts numerous barriers in Missouri's child care infrastructure since the pandemic," said CCAMO CEO Robin Phillips. "We have addressed these issues – from workforce development resources to policy recommendations – to assist our region in its quest for quality answers to our current child care climate."

Child Care Aware of Missouri's services include workforce development, child care business supports, advocacy and policy work, and its new Child Care Keeps Missouri Working, a regional campaign offering concierge solutions to businesses undergoing employee recruitment and retention challenges due to the overwhelming shortage of quality child care options. For more information, call (314) 535-1458 or visit www.mochildcareaware.org.