ST. LOUIS – There are 1,003 child care providers who still have a pending review of payment errors from June through September of 2024. Another 660 providers have resolutions dating back between Jan. 1 and May 31, 2024.

At one point, Lisa Scheer at Baden Christian Child Care Center said the state owed her $17,000 in overdue child care subsidies. 

“We’ve had a year now, right? Of not being paid on time. Not being paid correctly,” Scheer said. 

The families who use her center pay 100% through state subsidies. Her payments are mostly caught up now—a sign of improvement after a software glitch at the beginning of 2024 caused a problem for providers across the state. 

Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe addressed the issue during the State of the State Address earlier this week. He promised changes to how child care providers will be paid.

“We will not allow late payments or technology issues to put these small businesses at risk of not being able to provide for families in need of child care,” he said. “Starting in fiscal year 2026, providers will receive payments from the state at the beginning of the month, and we will pay on enrollment.”

Pay on enrollment is much preferred for daycares that are currently paid based on attendance. Scheer says it helps them form a more stable budget without having to guess how often children might be sick. 

“I am hopeful. I’m excited. I was cheering when I heard about it,” she said. 

But after a year of struggles with subsidy payments, she hopes it is not just talk.  

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is promising a fix to the software by the end of this month to prevent the backlog from growing. It says most payment corrections will be done by the end of February. 

But Scheer is skeptical. 

“I don’t know what to expect. The numbers that they give us weekly—I don’t know what those real numbers are, but I don’t believe them,” she said. 

A number of child care providers planned to travel to Jefferson City on Thursday to discuss their concerns with lawmakers.