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Public services lift 1.1 million Missourians out of poverty each year by helping working families with low wages, seniors and people with disabilities who have fixed incomes obtain health care, pay for child care, and fulfill a range of basic needs.
Safety net programs in Missouri reduce the poverty rate by nearly 2/3 and are especially important to the 250,000 Missouri children lifted out of poverty each year through access to services such as income support, health care, and nutrition assistance.[i].
Recent proposals in Congress would lead to deep reductions in federal funding for these critical services and, in many cases, would shift the cost and responsibility for services to the state.
The tables below show the number of recipients or households who benefit from these programs by congressional district.
Estimates are of program enrollment only. They are not meant to provide estimates of the impact of specific federal proposals, but to indicate the broad range of Missourians who would be impacted by cuts across the state.
Income Support
- The Federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), and child care assistance are programs that help families in Missouri make ends meet.
- Programs that boost family income have been linked to long term improvements in educational, behavioral, financial, and health outcomes among children[ii].
Health & Nutrition
- Medicaid, or MO HealthNet in Missouri, provides comprehensive health care coverage to 2 in 5 children across the state and is critical in providing access to care for seniors and people living with disabilities.
- One in eight Missouri residents is reached by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) program; over 70% are in families with children[iii].
Social & Economic Conditions
Social and economic conditions vary widely across the state. Missourians who live in areas with high rates of unemployment and poverty would be hit hardest by cuts to programs that help families make ends meet.
[i]“In Missouri, Safety Net Lifts Roughly 1.1 Million People Above Poverty Line and Provides Health Coverage to 40 Percent of Children” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) accessed at https://www.cbpp.org/sites/default/files/atoms/files/7-22-16pov-factsheets-mo.pdf.
[ii] “Economic Security Programs Help Low-Income Children Succeed Over Long Term, Many Studies Find” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) accessed at https://www.cbpp.org/research/poverty-and-inequality/economic-security-programs-help-low-income-children-succeed-over.
[iii] “Missouri: Food Stamp Program” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) accessed at https://www.cbpp.org/sites/default/files/atoms/files/snap_factsheet_missouri.pdf.
