Kids Care Fair for Child Care Action
On Saturday, March 21, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. families from across Henry, St. Clair, Cedar, and Polk counties are invited to gather in El Dorado Springs, Missouri, for the Kids Care Fair—a free, family-friendly event focused on one of the most urgent issues facing our communities: child care.
From 10 am to noon, children can enjoy games, prizes, and food trucks while adults connect with resources, learn about new solutions in development, and speak directly with lawmakers about what families truly need.
The Kids Care Fair is more than an event—it’s an opportunity to shape the future of child care in our region.
Child Care Is a Community Issue—And It’s Time We Solve It Together
Across our rural region, families are facing a challenge that affects everything from household budgets to local economic growth: child care.
Finding child care is hard. Paying for child care can feel nearly impossible. And at the same time, child care providers are struggling to keep their doors open.
That’s why New Growth has been working with partners across the region to develop real, practical solutions—and why we’re inviting you to be part of what comes next.
Recently, Patty Cantrell of New Growth and Amber Hansen of Seeds of Faith Preschool in Clinton shared more during a KDKD Community Spotlight interview.
Read about the action plan strategies shaped by 2025 local research and community-identified priorities—focused on strengthening child care supply and quality, supporting working families and employers, and reinforcing the essential role early childhood care plays in community well being.
The Reality Families Are Facing
In Missouri, many working families fall into a difficult gap. They earn too much to qualify for traditional state child care subsidies, but not enough to comfortably afford care on their own.
Families are often paying up to 20% of their income for child care. For two children, that can be around $7,500 or more per year—before rent, groceries, car payments, or utilities.
Meanwhile, child care providers operate high-cost businesses. Staffing is difficult. Wages are hard to raise. Programs close because they simply can’t afford to stay open
And when child care isn’t available or affordable:
- Parents can’t go to work.
- Employers struggle to fill positions.
- Communities lose economic momentum.
This is not just a family issue. It’s a workforce issue. An economic development issue. A community stability issue.
A New Approach: Child Care Works
One promising strategy emerging from this regional planning effort is participation in Missouri’s Child Care Works model.
Child Care Works is designed specifically for working families who are above traditional subsidy limits but still need help. Through Child Care Works, employers and communities buy down families’ total child care costs. The state of Missouri matches those contributions. Families pay the rest, generally about one-third. Participation in Child Care Works also sets employers and families up to benefit from child care-related tax credits.
Even more exciting, community dollars can also support this effort—allowing our region to build a locally driven solution that can grow over time.
An application to the state is being developed, and with approval, this model could begin helping families as early as this summer
Supporting the Providers Who Make It All Possible
Reducing costs for parents is only part of the solution. We also need more child care providers—and we need to help them succeed.
Through this initiative, New Growth will be working with at least four new family child care businesses across our four-county region. Selected individuals will receive one-on-one consulting support, from licensing to startup, over the course of a year
As part of the New Growth Women’s Business Center, we will also strengthen our ability to help existing childcare providers navigate regulations, grow sustainably, and build strong businesses.
High-quality early childhood education is not “babysitting.” It is foundational to our children’s development and to the future of our communities
Be Part of the Solution
This work is happening because local voices are stepping up. And now we’re inviting you to join us.
Saturday, March 21 | 10:00 am–12:00pm
508 N Main, El Dorado Springs - the Liston Center
Bring the kids. Enjoy food trucks,games, prizes (including a Chromebook giveaway), and connect with lawmakers who want to hear directly from families about what’s working—and what isn’t
This is a relaxed, welcoming space where children can have fun while adults explore resources and share ideas.
🏛 Statewide Child Advocacy Day
Wednesday, March 25 | Jefferson City
The following week, join a regional group traveling to the State Capitol to speak directly with policymakers about the importance of child care solutions.
More than a dozen communities across Missouri are participating in this coordinated statewide effort. Never before has there been such a locally driven, statewide movement focused on child care innovation
This Is Our Moment
Child care challenges did not happen overnight—and they won’t be solved overnight. But meaningful steps are being taken right now.
If you are:
- A parent struggling with costs
- An employer concerned about workforce shortages
- A provider navigating a complex system
- A grandparent, neighbor, or community member who cares about the future
You have a role to play.
To join Child Advocacy Day or ask questions, email info@newgrowthmo.org
When communities come together around their children, real change happens.
Let’s build the kind of child care system our families—and our future—deserve.