Governor Kehoe and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Releases Child Ca…

SEPTEMBER 9, 2025

Jefferson City- Today, Governor Mike Kehoe announced the release of the Executive Order 25-15 Implementation Report, a key step toward modernizing Missouri's child care licensing system by reducing outdated, duplicative, or burdensome rules-while ensuring the highest standards of safety and quality for children.

"Missouri families deserve safe, reliable child care, and providers deserve a licensing system that is clear, practical, and efficient," said Governor Kehoe. "This report is a strong first step, but we know there is much more work to be done, which we expect to be done at business speed. Improving licensing is just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to addressing Missouri's child care crisis, and we will continue to push forward until families have the access and options they need."

Under the direction of Governor Kehoe's executive order announced during his first State of the State Address in January, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) reviewed more than 1,400 child care licensing rules and identified 177 requirements-over 10%-that are outdated, duplicative, or unnecessary. Once removed, this would reduce family child care home requirements by 11.6% and child care center requirements by 12.17%, exceeding the Governor's 10% reduction goal.

The review also found that more than half of all licensing rules are repeated across family homes, group homes, and centers. To address this, DESE plans to:

• Consolidate the rules into a single, unified book that clearly outlines general requirements for all providers and distinguishes those specific to each type of facility.
• Create a separate set of rules for school-age-only programs, which operate differently from early childhood care providers.

"This review is an opportunity to modernize child care licensing in Missouri, and I'd like to thank our stakeholders for their hard work in helping us identify areas for improvement," said Commissioner Karla Eslinger, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. "We've made important progress, but this is only the beginning. Families, providers, DESE, and legislators must continue working together to address the child care shortage and build a stronger system for the future."

The implementation of EO 25-15 demonstrates Missouri's commitment to reducing regulatory burdens on child care providers, supporting working families, and laying the groundwork for long-term solutions. Using this review, DESE will now work to revise the state's child care licensing rules through the formal rule rewriting process.

For more information on child care licensing and regulation, click here.

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