Missouri Child Care Trends 1994-2001
By Art Schneider
Human Development/Family Studies Specialist
University Outreach/Extension

This is an analysis of licensed child care trends in Missouri based upon licensing data provided by the Missouri Department of Health Division of Health Standards and Licensure Bureau of Child Care.

Chart 1

The number of licensed child care facilities peaked in Missouri in 1997.

. Chart 2

While the number of licensed facilities peaked, the overall capacity  has continued to grow. The chart at left shows that total licensed capacity has grown 30% in seven years!

It is unclear if this is due to a decline in the informal child care system, that is, small child care or religious child care that is not licensed.

Chart 3

A dramatic change in child care in Missouri is the significant increase in child care centers (those licensed for 20 or more children). Since 1994 the number of licensed child care centers has increased slightly more than 51%.

Chart 4

Almost as dramatic as the increases in child care centers is the increase in child care center capacity. In the past seven years it has increased by  32,673--nearly by 45.2%!

Chart 5

Missouri licensed child care that is home based (licensed for 10 or fewer children) peaked in 1997. There are actually 392 fewer licensed child care homes in January 2001 than in January 1994--a 15.7% drop!-- and 544 fewer than in 1997--a drop of 20.5%.

Chart 6

The decline in home based child care capacity closely mimics the drop in licensed facilities. Capacity dropped 3672 in January 2001 from what it was in January 1994--15.2%! From a high of 26424 in 1997, capacity has dropped 5656--21.6%!

Chart 7

Group Child Care (Up to 20) has never been a major component of licensed child care in Missouri. It peaked at 225 in 1996 and has remained fairly stable the past four years, declining about 11.5%.

Chart 8

Group child care capacity has closely followed the decline in licensing units. Capacity has declined 11.6% between 1996 and 2001.

Chart 9
Licensed child care has seen a profound change in licensed capacity. Not only has the total capacity increased dramatically, but the percentage allocation by type of license also has changed. From just less than three-quarters of capacity, center-based child care has grown to more than 80% of capacity.  Home based child care has shrunk dramatically from nearly one-fourth of child care capacity to less than 16% or about one-seventh of total child care capacity.

Chart 10

The overall average size of a licensed facility has increased 22.3% in the past seven years. In charts 11 through 12 one sees that home and group child care average size  licensed has increased while the average size of center based has declined. It is the enormous growth in the number of licensed centers that has propelled the overall growth in child care capacity in Missouri.  

Chart 11

Group child care capacity is a maximum of 20 for any one facility. By the change in average size it is apparent that most group homes today seek licensing for  a full 20 children.  It must be remembered that capacity is not the same as enrollment. Many child care facilities never achieve full enrollment. There is no data source for enrollments.

Chart 12

As with group based child care, home based also has seen an increase. It is much slighter--just .7 of 1%. This is because the maximum capacity for licensed home based is 10 and there is clearly a ceiling affect.

 

Chart 13

Center-based child care growth has propelled the expansion f licensed child care in Missouri. The data presented here are statewide and therefore do not allow for analysis at a county level. It is likely that this growth has primarily been in counties with a community of 2000 or more residents, the Census Bureau definition of urban.  It would be valuable to have a distribution of the size of center-based facilities. Overall, the average size of center based care has declined 4%.

Chart 14

Regulated data are from the Missouri Department of Health and are based upon fiscal year, e.g. 1995 is from July 1, 1994, to June 30, 1995. All providers data is from the Missouri Department of Social Services and is based on the calendar year hotline calls.

  Less than 1 % (.76%) of all reported child abuse that is found substantiated (probable cause) is by child care providers. In 1999, regulated child care (licensed and exempt such as nursery schools and churches) accounted for barely 1/2 of 1%.