VOTE411 Voter Guide

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I've spent the bulk of my career working on policies and programs that increase access to health and mental health services, and advocacy focused on strengthening public education in Missouri, teacher retention and out-of-school time resources for children and youth.

I am a longtime volunteer and champion for public schools and served 7 years on the Kansas City School Board. I view quality public schools as essential to a healthy and dynamic community, and necessary for developing young minds and future workers, business owners and creators. Unfortunately, Missouri leaders have redirected public school funding to vouchers and other privitized models of education that are selective and not set up to serve every child.

Health care is a central concern for nearly every individual and family. There are avenues for increasing health and mental health and substance abuse services in Missouri but budget limitations and under-funded state systems keep many people out of care.

My priority is the health and development of young children: Maximizing preventive health services through the federally supported CHIP program, and leveraging child care tax credits to increase the quantity and quality of nurturing child care providers. Child care tax credits to support parents and chronically under-resourced providers have bipartisan support but need to be advanced. Children's health gaps can be reduced by documenting and addressing longstanding administrative issues that contribute to interruptions of health care for Missouri's children.