CARES Act expands eligibility for child care help
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
The CARES Act will provide millions in funding for child care as Missourians return to work and schools remain closed for at least part of the summer because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The state is receiving $66 million for child care services from the federal government, Gov. Mike Parson said Wednesday during his daily COVID-19 briefing in the Capitol.
You can watch a replay of the news conference in the media player below.
Jennifer Tidball, acting director of the Missouri Department of Social Services, said families with incomes up to 215 percent of the federal poverty level -- $26,200 for a family of four -- will be eligible for subsidies to help pay for child care. The benefit will last through August and families must prove a documented need to get them, Tidball said.
"Today families who previously did not qualify for a childcare subsidy payment may now qualify," Tidball said.
The money also provides child care for up to 90 days for those looking for work. Also included are payments to child care providers serving essential workers, with extra money for those that operate on nights and weekends.
The state also will begin to pay child care providers based on the number of children authorized for subsidies, not based on how many of those children actually attend, Tidball said.
Tidball said the move will give day cares additional income as some of them prepare to open back up.
Parson and Tidball also highlighted CARES Act funding for the state's six regional food banks, including the Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri. The Columbia-based organization will receive about $212,000 to help feed more Missourians.
Parson also sought to put perspective on the numbers of COVID-19 cases in the state.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services announced on Wednesday COVID-19 cases and virus-related deaths increased. Confirmed novel coronavirus cases rose above 9,000. Deaths rose by 19.
Fifteen of those deaths were in St. Louis, Parson said. But he said focusing on the numbers tends to hide the sorrow each death causes.
"You know sometimes we need to take time and just realize that those are real people out there that died, that lost your life, that have loved ones," Parson said. "And I think so many times we get wrapped up in the numbers that we don't pay enough attention to these really are people that affects people's lives and families' lives."
