Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon is seeking funding increases in a pair of social welfare programs for children.
Under the governor's proposed 2014 budget, foster care families and working parents both would receive increases in state subsidies.
Rates paid to foster care providers would increase by 3 percent. While that would help reimburse families for food and clothing, an advocate for foster children says it still falls well short of adequate funding for the state system.
Nixon's budget also includes a 3 percent increase in the rates that child-care centers receive for caring for the children of lower-income parents. His budget plan also would raise the income eligibility threshold for parents to qualify for subsidized child care.