Missouri child care facilities will no longer be experiencing monthlong wait periods for subsidy payments, but they anticipate a change in how and when their payments will be received.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Office of Childhood began transitioning from subsidy reimbursements based on attendance to prospective enrollment-based payments at the start of fiscal year 2026, which began on July 1. Child care providers are still receiving payments based on attendance while the department works through technical changes.

"DESE anticipates this work to take approximately six months to complete," the department said in a June 30 release .

In the current system, subsidies are distributed to providers based on how many children were served on any given day.

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