INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — Voters in Jackson County, Missouri, will decide whether to renew a sales tax to pay for the Children’s Services Fund during the 2022 general election.
The fund provides money to agencies across the county that support children’s mental health, emotional and social well-being.
Since first adopting the tax in 2016, the fund has distributed $84 million to 85 partners, supporting a total of 125 projects. The current tax rate collects 1/8 of a cent on sales within the county. Renewing the tax would raise the rate to 1/4 of a cent.
Hilaire Phillips supports the renewal. Her son, Pierson, died by suicide at age 14 in 2019. Before his death, Pierson was a vocal advocate for more mental health resources, specifically for children.
“One of his best quotes was, ‘We as kids need you to take care of us. And if you don’t listen to us, then we cannot trust you.’ He had so many amazing things to say about living with a mental illness and we had to fight for help,” Phillips remembered. “The sooner we get these interventions happening when they’re young, the better the outcome can be.”
Comprehensive Mental Health Services named one of its buildings in Independence, Missouri, after Pierson.
Child Protection Center has received financial support from the Children’s Services Fund to offer free mental health services for its clients. The nonprofit’s president and CEO, Lisa Mizell, said even voters without children should support this question.
“This is a levy that benefits all of society,” Mizell said. “When you produce healthy children, you’re producing healthy society. We can’t ignore that forever. It’s also very low cost.”
Estimates show an average family would pay $25 per year by renewing this sales tax.
The issue appears on ballots as “County Question #1.” A vote “yes” renews the sales tax. A vote “no” would end the tax.
