News Release: 3/17/2026

Across Missouri — An alternative budget introduced by Missouri House Budget Committee Chair Representative Dirk Deaton (R–Seneca) and passed by committee, would eliminate all state funding for Missouri’s three Family Resource Center organizations, located in 15 communities spanning the entire state. The three organizations operate statewide and are headquartered in Independence (FosterAdopt Connect), St. Louis (Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition), and Jefferson City (Central Missouri Foster Care & Adoption Association), providing a coordinated network of support that cannot be easily replaced.
 
This budget is in contrast to the Children’s Division and Governor Kehoe’s recommendation to maintain the level of funding for FRCs. Critical services for nearly 40,000 Missouri children, youth, and families involved in the child welfare system each year would be dramatically reduced. Advocates warn that eliminating these supports will ultimately cost taxpayers more as the state absorbs the long-term consequences.
 
Without this funding, vital programs and interventions will disappear.
 
Family Resource Centers currently provide emergency housing for youth, crisis intervention, in-home behavioral support, trauma therapy, mental health services, adoption and post-adoption support, legal advocacy, kinship navigation, and specialized training for families caring for children with elevated needs. They also prepare older youth aging out of foster care for independent adulthood where they often lack the safety net of a permanent family.
 
“For the families we serve across Central Missouri, these services are not optional. They are often the difference between stability and crisis,” said Jill Quaid, CEO of Central Missouri Foster Care & Adoption Association. “When we can step in early with the right support, we help prevent children from entering foster care, strengthen families, and create better outcomes for everyone involved. We remain hopeful that lawmakers will recognize the impact of this work and restore funding so Missouri families can continue receiving the support they need.”
 
If 10.4M in General Revenue Funding is Eliminated:
•           Youth aging out of foster care will lose access to emergency housing and transition support
•           Fewer foster families will be recruited and licensed
•           Families will lose access to training, crisis intervention, and behavioral support services
•           Access to trauma-informed therapy and mental health care will shrink
•           Kinship caregivers will lose assistance navigating complex systems
•           More children may enter or re-enter foster care without preventative intervention
 
Advocates warn that removing these services will create significant gaps in care that local communities cannot absorb, ultimately placing more children at risk and increasing long-term costs to the state.
 
Family Resource Centers remain hopeful that lawmakers restore funding in the state budget to ensure Missouri children and families continue receiving the support they need to remain safe, stable, and connected.
 
About Missouri Family Resource Centers
 
Missouri’s Family Resource Centers provide specialized support for children and families connected to foster care, adoption, and kinship care. Through a coordinated network of services including prevention support, family stabilization, trauma-informed care, kinship navigation, and transition services for youth aging out of foster care, these organizations help children remain safe, families remain stable, and communities remain connected.
 
Missouri’s three Family Resource Center providers are FosterAdopt Connect, Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition, and Central Missouri Foster Care & Adoption Association. Together they serve tens of thousands of children, youth, and caregivers across Missouri each year through prevention services, family support programs, and resources that strengthen permanency and stability for children involved in the child welfare system.

About CMFCAA
CMFCAA is a 501(c)(3) organization serving foster, adoptive, and kinship families across 24 counties in mid-Missouri. Since 2007, the organization has provided no-cost services that advocate for children, strengthen families, and help young people thrive. Learn more at mofosteradopt.com.