Two state statutes passed in the 1990s (RSMo §67.1775 and RSMo §210.861) allow Missouri counties to levy up to a 1/4-cent ($0.0025) sales tax to create a children’s services fund that supports youth mental health and well-being services. Jackson County 4 Kids, a diverse coalition of nonprofit and philanthropic leaders, business people, and local politicians started organizing to create their own children’s services fund after a 2014 needs assessment from the University of Missouri’s School of Public Policy showed a funding gap in the region for services for children and youth. The coalition’s initial plan was to pass a 1/4-cent sales tax in both Jackson and Clay Counties because, together, the two counties faced a total $80 million gap for children’s services, especially those related to housing and foster care services.

While working to place the measure on the ballot, Clay County’s government faced challenges that ended their efforts, but Jackson County cut the proposed sales tax rate in half. So, in November 2016, voters approved a Children’s Services Fund supported by a 1/8-cent sales tax with a seven-year sunset. The measure dedicated about $15 million a year to children’s services and passed with 59% of the vote, with Jackson County becoming the eighth county in the state to establish a children’s services fund. 

 Although the Children’s Services Fund of Jackson County awarded $84 million to programs and services through 2022, the sales tax revenue allocated to the fund was insufficient to support the community’s need, as indicated by the fact that the fund was not able to fulfill 40% of funding requests it received. Supporters of the Children’s Services Fund wanted to build on the success of the fund and expand its impact and, in July 2022, the Jackson County Legislature unanimously voted to place a renewal measure on the ballot. The new measure would double the sales tax rate to 1/4 cent and, critically, reauthorize the fund in perpetuity so voters would no longer need to renew the fund every few years. Strong public education and political campaigns increased community support for the measure, as did the desire to address the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on children. In November 2022, voters approved the measure with 75% of the vote, a level of support that greatly surpassed both the initial 2016 election and the level of support the campaign already had going into the 2022 election, according to pre-campaign polling. With the renewal and sales tax increase, the measure now dedicates over $30 million each year to children’s mental health and well-being services.