Jefferson City, Missouri (KMIZ)
The Missouri House Committee on Elementary and Secondary Education announced Monday that it will hold a special hearing to investigate the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's delays in paying child care fees.
The hearing will take place on September 10th at 2:00 pm in Hearing Room 3 of the State Capitol.
The hearing is being held to investigate the causes and impacts of delays in the payment of child care allowances, the committee said in a statement.
This comes one day after the House Minority Caucus called for the creation of an emergency interim committee to address what Missouri Democrats have described as a crisis.
In a statement to ABC17 News in July, DESE said the issues were a result of the department moving to a new data system last year and were expected to be resolved by the end of July. As of Aug. 14, that date has been pushed back to October.
In a media release announcing the special hearing, Chairman Brad Pollitt (R-Sedalia) said he was committed to finding a solution.
“Over the past few weeks, I have been in contact with DESE about these concerns. They understand the issues and are working on solutions,” Pollitt said in a statement. “This hearing will be an opportunity for DESE to inform the public and explain their efforts to make improvements.”