Commissioner Dr. Karla Eslinger | https://dese.mo.gov/
The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has completed its review of the backlog in child care subsidy applications. The Office of Childhood (OOC) addressed delays in family applications for child care assistance, provider applications for subsidy contracts, and provider payment reviews through September. Payments will continue to be processed over the coming weeks, with regular reviews resuming in March.
Commissioner of Education Karla Eslinger expressed gratitude for the efforts made to resolve the issues: "We appreciate the diligent efforts of the teams that worked to address the system issues and reviewed the backlog. We also want to thank subsidy program families, providers, and other stakeholders for their patience."
The backlog was attributed to technical challenges encountered when launching a new Child Care Data System (CCDS) in December 2023. The number of backlogged cases decreased monthly since summer 2024 after additional staff were brought on board. By January 2025, all necessary technical issues were resolved.
In 2024, more than $204 million was paid to child care providers serving subsidy-eligible children. The OOC processed 39,006 family applications and nearly 2,800 provider contracts. Currently, about 22,000 children and 2,000 providers participate in Missouri's child care subsidy program.
There has been a leadership change within DESE’s Office of Childhood. Effective February 24, 2025, Deputy Commissioner Kelli Jones will serve as interim contact for the office.
Information from this article can be found here.
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