DESE submits expense breakdown to federal government amid child care payment delays
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and its Office of Childhood are working with federal officials as more than half of the state’s child care providers continue to wait for overdue payments.
DESE said in a release Friday it received a request from the federal government late Thursday for a detailed justification of pending child care payment requests before funding can be released.
A DESE spokesperson told ABC 17 News the department was required to submit a breakdown of expenses by allowable category to the federal government.
The federal request follows fraud allegations involving child care centers in Minnesota, where investigations into the alleged misconduct remain ongoing. The investigation also led President Donald Trump’s administration to suspend $10 billion in federal funds that were supposed to go to five Democratic states, a move that was blocked by a federal judge on Friday.
“We understand the importance of verifying these dollars are spent appropriately, given recent events in other states,” Commissioner of Education Karla Eslinger said in DESE’s release.
The request also comes as child care centers across Missouri have faced ongoing challenges. In December 2023, the state switched software providers for managing subsidy payments to Carahsoft, MTX and World Wide Technology, a transition that led to a backlog of missed payments and forced some day care centers to close. The backlog was not fully cleared until February.
As of Friday, the state said 1,743 of its child care providers, roughly 53%, were impacted by the delay of federal payments.
DESE said it has been in contact with providers throughout the week about the delays and is urging them to continue submitting invoices to help prevent further setbacks once the state receives the funding.
State Rep. Gregg Bush (D-Boone County) told ABC 17 News that no child care providers have contacted him yet about the additional documentation. He added, however, that he has frequently heard concerns from constituents about child care affordability and availability.
State Rep. John Martin (R-Boone County) also said he has not yet been contacted by constituents regarding the delayed child care payments.
The department said it will notify child care providers with an updated timeline as soon as more information becomes available.
