JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on Thursday signed into law two bills expanding financial support for foster and adoptive parents.
“Missouri has to do a better job of making sure we provide homes for children,” the governor said minutes before signing the legislation in a ceremony on the Capitol lawn, surrounded by a small crowd of children.
The bills, among the first to reach the governor’s desk this year, create a tax deduction to cover foster parenting expenses, up to $5,000 for those that foster at least half the year. They also widen eligibility for a $10,000 tax credit covering one-time adoption expenses.
Previously, the adoption tax credit was only available for adoptions of Missouri children with special needs. Sponsor , R-Mountain Grove, has said the tax credit was extremely underused.
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Now, the credit will be available to any Missouri adoptive parents.
Kelly, an adoptive parent and former foster parent, was one of several in attendance who have personal connections to the foster care system.
House Speaker , R-Arnold, who named foster care reform as one of his priorities for this legislative session, was adopted from foster care as a child.
“Today is a really great day. I don’t think anybody will ever understand how important these two bills will be to some of these future children that we can help,” he said.
Parson said he also felt connected to the issue because his son and daughter-in-law went through the adoption process 22 months ago.
The family had the experience of knowing “a little girl that you don’t know where she would have ended up today if it hadn’t been for her being able to come to our family,” Parson said.
The legislation also expands tax credits for domestic violence shelters and maternity homes and includes several child protection provisions.
The “Birth Match” program created by one of the proposals will increase communication between the Department of Social Services and the State Registrar’s Office in order to alert the department when a child is born to a parent that has been convicted of certain crimes or lost parental rights in the past.
The department would then attempt to connect with the family to offer services.
One of the bills also changes the standards for when a child is considered abandoned by a parent, a measure proponents say reflects research about the need for young children to reach a permanent situation as quickly as possible.
The proposal also gives judges more discretion to decide whether a birth parent needs adoptive parents to pay for an attorney during a consensual adoption, another attempt to make adoptions more affordable.
Similar provisions faced some criticism when discussed in the Senate.
Kelly’s proposals are and .
Parson also signed , which modifies the Missouri Works Program, in a private reception earlier Thursday, according to a news release.