Our Advocacy

Public Policy Priorities 2020

We focus on the five elements of poverty to guide our policy work: Economic and Family Security, Education, Food and Nutrition, Health, and Housing and Energy.

With the five elements of poverty as our lens, Missouri CAN conducts grassroots and in-Capitol advocacy and education, and also offers leadership and advocacy training to our Network of agencies and members. We participate in multiple cooperative efforts such as the Cover Missouri Coalition. Missouri CAN also leads Missourians to End Poverty (MEP) as the administrative/fiscal arm and spearheads its advocacy and outreach efforts.

Using the five elements as a framework, the policy priorities outlined below emerged upon review of the Community Needs Assessment data compiled by Missouri’s 19 Community Action Agencies in 2017.

Lift working families out of poverty.

– Increase opportunities for adequate employment, which includes living wage jobs with benefits. Find out what is considered a living wage in Missouri.

– Improve access to stable and affordable childcare. Learn about Missouri’s childcare deserts.

– Increase reliable and affordable transportation options. Read why the road out of poverty is paved with better transportation.

– Develop tax plans that support working families. Learn more about the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and how it can help Missourians. 

– Ensure robust supports and opportunities for Missouri’s children and youth are in place. Understand poverty’s impact on children and what can be done about it.


Invest in high-quality, affordable education for all ages.

– Maintain or increase funding for early childhood education to ensure school readiness for low-income children. Check out Missouri’s Early Childhood Profile from the National Center for Children in Poverty. 

– Increase opportunities for Missourians to have access to affordable, quality higher education. Understand the link between higher education and earnings from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center (MERIC).

– Increase access to vocational training and job education centers. Discover why workforce development is an important component of poverty reduction.


Increase and protect access to nutritious food.

– Support assistance programs such as those listed below to ensure that low-income families have access to nutritious food:

– Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

– Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)

– School Lunch Program

Decrease the number of Missouri’s food deserts. Learn about Missouri’s food systems and how they impact poverty from the Food and Research and Action Center (FRAC), Feeding America, and Feeding Missouri.


Increase access to sufficient and affordable healthcare.

– Basic medical and dental care

– Chronic disease management

– Substance abuse, behavioral health, and senior health services

Discover the connection between poverty and social determinants of health from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and Healthy People 2020.


Invest in safe, stable and affordable housing.

– Fund Utilicare, Weatherization, LIHEAP (Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program).

– Increase the quantity and quality of housing stock.

– Stabilize housing for low-income renters through subsidies and related assistance.

– Increase opportunities for homeownership through downpayment and mortgage assistance.

– Improve financial literacy related to renting and homeownership.

– Provide adequate and accessible shelters dedicated to homelessness and transitional housing. Learn more about the importance of affordable housing from the National Low Income Housing Coalition and its Out of Reach Report.