Pay in Advance and Pay on Authorized Enrollment

On April 30, 2024, the final rule for the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) was published in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) requiring states to pay in advance and on authorized enrollment. Although Missouri received a waiver from the Administration of Children and Families (ACF) until 2026 to implement this new payment practice, with the support of Govenor Kehoe’s Administration, the Department has continued efforts to initiate these practices as they are in the best interest of both child care providers who receive subsidy payments and families seeking quality child care.

House Bill 2 (2025) allocated funds from Missouri’s Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) to align the payment structure for child care providers with private payors. The update to payment practices will provide more stability in payments to child care subsidy providers. This will be driven by two major changes that more closely align with private pay families:

Payment will reflect the total amount of approved child care as long as the child attends a minimum of eight hours per month.
Payments will be made in advance of services.

Terms and Conditions

New Terms and Conditions: What Families and Providers Should Know

DESE is changing how child care subsidy payments are made. As a result, DESE has updated the terms and conditions to allow providers to be paid based on their authorized enrollment and in advance of care instead of payments based on the previous terms and conditions.

Terms and Conditions (Coming Soon)

Rules

New Payment Rules: What Families and Providers Should Know

DESE is changing how child care subsidy payments are made. Instead of paying after care is provided based on attendance, providers will be paid in advance based on authorized enrollment. To make this change, DESE is filing both emergency and proposed rules.

Why Are Two Rules Filed at the Same Time?

Filing both an emergency rule and a proposed rule allows DESE to move forward with the new pay in advance model without delay, while still following the full rulemaking process.

The emergency rule lets DESE start the new payment method quickly, ensuring services continue without interruption.
The proposed rule follows the standard rulemaking process, including a 30-day public comment period, so families, providers, and the public can share feedback before the rule becomes permanent.

This approach balances the need for timely action with the importance of transparency and public input.

What This Means for You

Once the emergency rule takes effect, providers will be notified by DESE when payments in advance will begin.
Families will still need to meet eligibility requirements, but this change helps ensure more stable payments for providers and consistent care for children.
Providers, families, and the public will have a chance to share input on the proposed rule during the public comment period.

Coming Soon! DESE will share more details, including links to the rule and information on how to comment, once the proposed rule is filed in the Missouri Register.

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions for Families (Coming Soon)
Frequently Asked Questions for Providers (Coming Soon)
General Frequently Asked Questions (Coming Soon)

Missouri BUYS Powered by MOVERS

The Office of Administration requires all vendors (including child care providers contracted to receive subsidy payments) to register in the new “MissouriBuys powered by MOVERS” system. This registration was requested to be completed no later than June 30, 2025, to ensure there would be no delays in child care subsidy payments. We are still finding that many of our subsidy contracted providers have yet to register at all. The Office of Childhood (OOC) has created a new Subsidy Payments document to explain how to register. If you have not completed registration, please use this document to register immediately to avoid delays in subsidy payments.

• Be sure to follow the appropriate steps on this document based on whether you are existing subsidy provider or a new subsidy provider, as there is an additional step needed for new subsidy providers.

• You will receive a Supplier ID number after completing the MissouriBuys powered by MOVERS registration. This Supplier ID number is being entered into the Child Care Data System by OOC staff for testing of the new MOVERS system for payments before going live.

• If you have already registered or are in the process of registering for MissouriBuys powered by MOVERS, please be sure to add your W9 and banking information so your payments are not delayed within the payment system.

If you registered and were listed as “spend authorized” but did not add your banking when you registered, please contact the subsidy team members at CCpayments@dese.mo.gov or OOC Finance at childhoodinvoices@dese.mo.gov to get instructions on how to add your banking information.

Training and Resources