Day care sticker shock putting your finances in a tailspin? Worried about the safety of your young children while you work? Should affordable early childhood education be available to every child in Missouri?

With the Missouri legislative session winding down and several child care bills bills still under consideration, University City Children’s Center is hosting a forum on Friday, April 24 from 8:30 to 10 a.m. for parents to talk with politicians about the care of their young children.

State Reps. Jamilah Nasheed, Jeff Smith, Rachel Storch and Jeannette Mott Oxford, all D-St. Louis, among others, will be fielding questions and listening to concerns. Storch, Smith and Mott Oxford have been championing bills in the current legislative session focusing on child care safety, day care affordability and early childhood education programs for at-risk children in urban areas. 

Topics expected to be discussed include:

• A proposed “Quality Rating System” for Missouri where licensed centers would be rated on a five-star system based on the such items as curriculum, staff training and facilities.  There are currently bills both in the house and the senate proposing such a system.
• An increase in child care subsidies for child care centers providing services to low income families receiving state assistance.
• Affordable and inclusive preschool for children, regardless of income status or disability.
• Children’s mental health.

Unlike many of its neighbors, particularly Illinois, Missouri has come under criticism from early childhood advocacy groups like Pre-K Now and the National Institute for Early Education Research, for its reticence to fully invest in early childhood education. The groups argue early childhood education, particularly for at-risk children, results in markedly better school performance in later years.

The forum is hosted by Urban Strategies, National Center for Parents as Teachers, ARCHS, Citizens for Missouri’s Children, Child Day Care Association and Eliminating Racism, Empowering Women.

Call 314-726-0148 for more information.

Here’s an update on the location of this event. Although the event is being sponsored by the University City Children’s Center, it will be held at the downtown St. Louis headquarters of Urban Strategies: 1415 Olive Blvd. — Nancy