Platform and Legislative Priorities - Health Care
One in eight children has no health insurance, even though they come from working families. Many parents simply cannot afford coverage for their children.
Citizens for Missouri's Children believes that all children should have access to quality, affordable health care services to meet their medical, dental, and mental health needs. In order to increase health care coverage of uninsured and underinsured children, we suggest:
- Improving outreach and enrollment to children who are eligible for MO HealthNet for Kids, but not enrolled.
- Expanding health insurance coverage for low-income parents
CMC collaborates with a wide array of organizations to make sure all children have access to high-quality services. To improve access to a comprehensive high quality service system, we think Missouri should focus on:
- Providing a health care home for every child
- Providing a comprehensive array of services including prevention, screening, dental, mental health, and medical treatment
- Improving Missouri's child mental health system
- Increasing federal support for Missouri's child health programs.
Read about CMC's 2008 health care policy work.
Platform and Legislative Priorities - Early Care and Education
State funding for childcare and early education remains inadequate, despite extensive research that shows the earlier children start learning, the better their chances for long-term success.
Citizens for Missouri's Children believes that all children should have access to high quality, affordable early learning opportunities. We actively promote the need for a larger public investment in early care and pre-school; to improve access to these opportunities, we suggest:
- Expanding access to high quality preschool programs for all children ages 3 - 4
- Providing child care subsidies to more low-income working families
- Expanding Early Head Start
In 2008, CMC worked in concert with legislators to improve the quality of early care and education by:
- Establishing and funding a quality rating system for private child care
providers to ensure adequate professional development, technical assistance, and subsidy reimbursement rates for providers.
- Supporting changes to the child care subsidy program's reimbursement structure to promote quality.
Read about CMC's 2008 early care and education policy work.
Platform and Legislative Priorities - Child Protection
Thousands of children are abused and neglected each year in our state. Thousands more are forgotten in our foster care system. Too many develop serious health and mental health problems as a result.
Citizens for Missouri's Children believes that all children should be safe and cared for by their parents or other caregivers. CMC strives to improve the effectiveness of the state child welfare infrastructure by:
- Continuing progress towards full accreditation of the Missouri Children's Division
CMC works with agencies across the state to strenghten the quality of services to abused and neglected children. We advocate for policies geared towards:
- Improving access to guidance, education, job skills, and housing for children aging out of foster care
- Providing a continuum of quality services through the public and private sectors to prevent and treat child abuse and neglect
- Assuring that all treatment facilities located in Missouri provide the highest standards of care
Read about CMC's 2008 child protection policy work.