Kids Win Missouri

Outreach and Communication: KWM engages individuals and organizations in communities across Missouri through virtual events, email communication, presentations, meetings and roundtables to educate and obtain community feedback on issues impacting the well-being of children. Kids Win Missouri helps keep citizens abreast of news and developments concerning federal, state and local policy, providing regular updates through weekly conference calls and emails during the state's legislative session (early January through mid-May) and as needed during the remainder of the year. The conference calls and emails are open to the general public, accessible by signing up for updates through the organization's website. The organization hosted 19 weekly update calls and delivered 17 weekly updates on policy issues impacting children and families during 2022. KWM also hosted 7 monthly meetings on topical issues relating to children and families from June through December. KWM seeks to educate policymakers and the general public on issues important to the well-being of children through traditional, online and social media. In 2022, Kids Win Missouri launched a public relations campaign to share pertinent updates and educate parents, providers, policymakers and community leaders on the importance of early childhood services. The organization posted 15 blog posts on its website, had active social media pages and accounts, and worked with media organizations on five articles published in 2022.

Early Childhood Fellowship: In 2022, Kids Win Missouri launched early childhood fellowships for parents and child care and early education providers to provide training and experiential learning in policy, advocacy and leadership. Eighteen parents and seventeen providers took part in fellowships in 2022.

Policy Development:KWM works with organizations across Missouri to identify policies or changes to existing policies that will improve the well-being of Missouri children. Issue-specific workgroups convene to help develop policy on topics, which include early childhood, health and mental health, economic security and revenue, youth education and development and safety, security, family and community. The workgroups focused on 19 policy issues in 2022. The organization also develops research and analyses on a wide range of topics and conducts research on current and proposed policies impacting children and families. In 2022, the organization's research and analyses included topics such as child care, home visiting, maternal health, youth homelessness, and access to health care for children and families.