(Daily Caller News Foundation) Missouri’s Maternity Home Tax Credit program saves taxpayers nearly $600,000 every year while supporting mothers and preventing abortion, a new report found.
St. Raymond’s Society maternity home found that supporting pregnant women through pro-life agencies saves hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars by limiting future public spending on resources for homelessness and other social benefit programs, according to a report released Tuesday first obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. The policy gives donors to pro-life maternity homes a 70% return to use on their taxes.
“We know it’s good work, but by the same token, it’s also beneficial to the states,” Steve Smith, co-founder of St. Raymond’s Society, told the DCNF. “When you can prove the results that it’s saving the state money, it helps.”
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Maternity homes provide financial support to pregnant women while offering coaching and mentoring services, helping to prevent some from aborting their babies. Along with saving lives, the long-term impact of these programs means women are less likely to fall into poverty and more likely to receive higher levels of education and therefore contribute more to society in the long run, drastically decreasing their need for future public resources like homeless support or additional healthcare or poverty benefits, the report found.
Homeless support costs the state over $6,000 per person every year, while SNAP benefits cost $2,200 annually for each individual and childcare subsidiaries can cost as much as $15,600 per person, per year, the report states. By supporting women during their pregnancies, the report estimates the state saves roughly $28,750 per person seeking maternity services every year.
If a maternity home serves 20 women, total savings for the state — and therefore the taxpayer — reaches $575,000 each year. Furthermore, the report estimates these services save taxpayers an additional $74,559 annually by preventing the child from entering poverty later in life and by providing essential prenatal services that could prevent additional medical expenses and long-term health consequences from the child’s birth.
“Maternity home tax credit programs empower women and benefit everyone,” Smith said. “In helping vulnerable, expectant mothers break cycles of poverty and homelessness while addressing their healthcare needs and educational goals, maternity homes generate massive value for their communities. The women and families that maternity homes serve are surely the biggest winners, but with tax credit programs like Missouri’s, our state and our supporters see significant, tangible benefits as well.”
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Another benefit of the program, Smith told the DCNF, is it allows people to directly support their community while limiting government intervention.
“This is the best I’ve ever seen of three entities working together. The government by giving us the tax credits — we don’t get them to do things for us, but they can help finance the solving of the problems. We’ve got businesses that can increase their giving because of getting the credits back, and then the nonprofits are getting more money. And the winners in all of this are our clients, the women and children that we serve, because we can do so much more.”
Smith told the DCNF that the St. Raymond’s Society independently contracted the study to give clear results on the positive impacts of the tax program. Now, he is encouraging other states to join.
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