Early care leaders selected for statewide fellowship

By Kirsten Stokes

Two St. Joseph children’s advocates will be part of a statewide effort to improve kids’ well-being throughout Missouri.

Dlo Duvall and Kristin White have been selected to participate in the Kids Win Missouri Early Care and Education Leader Fellowship for 2024-2025.

“Just hearing stories from people of what the needs are out there and the challenges, I felt honored to be included in the group so that I could be a part of the change,” Duvall, the coordinator of early childhood services for the St. Joseph School District, said.

Launched in 2022, the fellowship gives care providers, parents and caretakers a voice in the policymaking process and a seat at the table in Jefferson City to advocate for child and family well-being.

“It is crucial that we are within the communities throughout the whole state and all the regions advocating for all of those providers of children 0 through 5 and the parents of those young children who are having such a hard time dealing with the child care crisis,” said Megan Murray, outreach and advocacy coordinator for Kids Win Missouri.

Recognized as a childcare desert, St. Joseph has about 100 kids on waitlists for childcare. White said there are trends she sees in her role at the Youth Alliance and she looks forward to being able to tell local stories and put faces to the issues.

“The childcare providers (people) cannot pay them what they need in order to have a reasonable living wage and to be able to do what they love,” White said.

Duvall is focused on the new needs and accommodations that some children need now compared to years past in her role in the St. Joseph school district.

“We have been holding a lot of screenings to try to find children that need care at our early learning center,” Duvall said. “The government has funded some preschool spots, but we need the teachers to be able to fill those and then just other ways that we can help our families get the resources.”

Once their fellowship ends, both St. Joseph women will continue their advocacy work through their respective roles and Kids Win Missouri.

“We have an alumni group from the past two core cohorts of graduates, so they will join into that and they will just continue their advocacy journey that way,” Murray said.