The Houston City Council has signaled its intentions to lead a county-wide effort to address the lack of adequate childcare, which it says affects residents and employers.
The council committed $11,225 to the cause during its Monday night meeting — half the cost of partnering with a statewide organization whose mission includes tackling the problem in Missouri. The balance of the cost may come from governmental units in the county, such as Licking and Texas County, as well as employers. Presentations are planned.
Travis Witzemann, economic developer for the City of Houston, made a detailed presentation about the issue. The city will partner with Kids Win Missouri for a solution that will result in a report that will detail the need locally and offer suggestions for financing mechanisms, such as grants and other funding sources. Results will come in May 2026. Based in Ballwin, the group tackles initiatives that affect the lives of children. Most recently, it announced its participation in a program that aims to split the cost of childcare between employers, families and with state government or a philanthropic partner.
Witzemann, who joined the city in June, said the crisis hits in several areas – families struggle to afford childcare, employers can’t retain workers and current providers battle with keeping a stable revenue stream to maintain operations. He said it all trickles down to affect governments in the loss of tax revenue. With a solution, daycare providers would become stable, allowing them to expand or serve more children.
Kids Win Missouri has led similar efforts in 17 counties by analyzing data that led to several new initiatives to address the problem.
According to figures cited by Witzemann, the childcare crisis hit in Texas County is about $3.2 million annually. If tackled successfully it could be a key recruitment tool to attract new investment to the community and county, he said.
Following the meeting, Witzemann said he hopes that the project leads to several entities working together. “It’s really a collaboration of all affected parties to determine a set of specific action items to implement, that will address the problem in a meaningful way,” he said.
The lack of care in the community has become more acute as two providers, Wee Care at First Baptist Church and Houston Optimist Club, closed their operations over the last several years.
To learn more, contact Witzemann at 417-967-3348 or twitzemann@houstonmo.org
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