ST. LOUIS, MO – Missouri Champions for Children, Families, and Educators,
We want to take this time to share some important news regarding United 4Children’s status as the state’s Early Care & Education Resource & Referral contractor.
Starting May 31, 2025, the child care resource and referral call center responsibilities will be transferred to Child Care Aware of Missouri, who will act as the state’s new child care resource & referral service, including child care subsidy support. Additionally, the Office of Childhood has announced that the Missouri Childhood Community Leader contract will go to a school district. We wish them all the best and will be working with them and the state to ensure the transition of responsibility is as seamless as Missouri’s families and children deserve, regardless of the organization leading the work.
This is another significant change in Missouri’s early childhood landscape, but wewant to take the time to address a few topics and answer any questions that come up.
Our Commitment to Service and Impact Remains Strong
Our vision for the current Early Care & Education Resource & Referral Network was to bring an innovative, collaborative, community-centered and wholistic focus to supporting families, children, and their village of partners, including educators, social services, and other nonprofits across the state so that every child can have the opportunity to thrive.
With the new restructured contract, knowing the public perception and ongoing challenges of childcare subsidy in MO, we were looking forward to continuing to find bold and innovative new ways to connect families and educators with these services and included several of these ideas in our bid.
Resource and referral work has historically been an essential piece of our program offerings since the creation of Child Day Care Association of St. Louis in 1969, and, even without this contract, resource and referral services will continue to be a vital part of our programming to provide the best wrap-around care possible to educators and families. We are already working on a plan to transition these services into a more personalized model, staying true to our mission to support Missouri’s early childhood landscape.
Celebrating Our Victories
While we navigate this change, it’s important to celebrate the remarkable impact we made over the course of this contract. Over the last two years this team has:
• Created MOELL, a state-of-the-art data mapping tool that is being used to help inform policy-makers and measure community needs.
• Coordinated and Led Community Leaders across the State of Missouri
• Attended Dozens of community outreach events
• Connected 14,000 People to child care centers through the child care data system
• Answered 4,384 Phone Calls from people in need to our call center
• Directly Connected 2,364 Families to vital resources
• Uploaded 1,025 Resources into the Missouri Family Resources database
• Established Relationships with stakeholders in each region of the state through Community Leader coordination.
These are incredible numbers that demonstrate the difference we have made in the last year and a half alone, while also developing innovative approaches, and greatly furthering the work’s reach over time. We are grateful for the expertise and compassion of our teams who worked diligently to serve our communities.
Finally, last year, you helped us celebrate 55 years of service to MO’s families, children, and communities. United 4 Children (Child Day Care Association) was helping Missouri’s families and educators before Microsoft launched its first computer, Nike made its first sneaker, Starbucks poured its first cup of coffee, or FedEx shipped its first package. Our commitment to educating, developing, and advocating for Missouri’s children, families, and educators will endure for the next 55 years —and beyond. We are actively creating a roadmap for how we will adapt and continue to provide high level support to the community.
United 4 Children is unwavering in our commitment to realizing our vision that every child has the foundation to thrive regardless of race, economic status, natural ability, or zip code of residence. I am grateful for the support of our friends, stakeholders, and community partners as we continue to find the best ways to support Missouri and our children.
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About United 4 Children: United 4 Children provides coaching, training, nutrition, and inclusion services to childcare and after school programs that address the many needs of the whole child. The organization empowers childcare providers with the knowledge and skills necessary to ensure that children feel safe, supported, and engaged in high-quality, developmentally appropriate activities by qualified and caring adults. United 4 Children strives to meet community needs where other resources do not exist. To learn more, visit united4children.org.
Media Contact: Gary Lowder | lowderg@united4children.org | 314-531-1412 ext. 189
