Politicians like Mike Kehoe are worsening Missouri’s child care crisis. I’d fix it | Opinion

There are many things that could happen if you or I don’t pay our bills: We could go bankrupt, have our utilities turned off, or even lose our homes. But Mike Kehoe thinks overseeing these failures entitles him to a promotion to Missouri governor?

For months now, child care providers who rely on state payments to provide care to children in every corner of the state have been stiffed by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education because of “technical issues,” “computer glitches,” “faulty software” and an “imperfect system.”

Missourians who are owed this money don’t have the luxury of telling their bank, grocery store or utility company that they won’t get their bills paid on time because of some government computer issue. In fact, several providers report not even being able to get a hold of anyone about what’s going on. These child care providers don’t have time to sit on hold for hours and hours only to get disconnected — but leadership in Jefferson City doesn’t care.

We were told at a legislative committee hearing in September that payment issues would be fixed by the end of October. Now we’re being told it will possibly come by the end of the year. Meanwhile, child care providers across the state are forced to remortgage their homes, take out personal loans that must be paid back with interest, and in many cases, close their doors altogether.

The domino effect of this crisis is widespread. We’ve lost 77 providers since this crisis started — meaning it’s harder for everyone, even those paying full cost, to find a safe place for their children.

Access to child care is not only important for children and families, but vital to our state’s economy. That’s why groups such as the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Gov. Mike Parson have identified Missouri’s child care shortage as one of the biggest workforce development challenges facing our state. How many more small businesses have to close before Missouri fixes its own failures? Many high-quality early educators and day care providers are owed tens of thousands of dollars. How much longer can we expect them to wait?

It’s abundantly clear that these problems began when the department began using a new software company, World Wide Technology. Why did the state begin using World Wide Technology? Why has the state continued to use this company after months and months of not receiving adequate service?

Hundreds of thousands of dollars have flowed from the vendors responsible for this indefensible screw-up into the campaign coffers of Republican elected officials — including my opponent, Mike Kehoe.

Now that the vendors have come under fire, we should be asking why our state is still using taxpayer dollars to enrich those who are hurting Missouri’s working families. Maybe — just maybe — there’s a strong case to be made that the wealthy political insiders are getting exactly what they paid for. The problem is, Missourians are not.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education should cut checks to these workers — now. We need to better vet the contractors our state tax dollars go to. These contracts should be going to those who can best help Missourians, not the elites who can afford to pad the pockets and campaign accounts of politicians.

Whoever becomes Missouri’s next governor on Nov. 5 better start clearing up this mess on Day 1. I can promise you, I will.