
There is a significant need for affordable childcare not just in Boone County, but across the state. More than half of Missourians live in a childcare desert, meaning that childcare in these communities is either nonexistent or incapable of meeting the demand of families. This is an issue that is critical to many families in Boone County, especially due to our growing population, but it often goes ignored in favor of more controversial issues. Investing in the future of our communities is one of the most important investments we can make, and Janet Thompson and her fellow Commissioners are willing to make that investment in Boone County.
Janet was a catalyst in the plan to add an affordable, quality childcare center to the new Boone County Sheriff’s Office Regional Law Enforcement Training Center. This new childcare facility, when completed, will both provide services to law enforcement officers at a discount and hire employees at above market rate, ensuring that those who take care of our children are paid a living wage. This innovative method of providing childcare services to our first responders is only the third program of its kind in the nation, and we can credit Janet Thompson and her fellow Commissioners for bringing it to Boone County. These novel solutions to the childcare crisis are at the forefront of Janet’s work as Commissioner, an issue among many on which she will continue to work in a fourth term.