Plan could create housing for Missouri domestic violence, trafficking victims
The state Housing Commission has approved a proposal by State Treasurer Clint Zweifel aimed at spurring development of long-term housing for victims of domestic violence and sex trafficking. The plan...
View ArticleCurriculum being developed to help prevent child abuse in Missouri
Discussions are taking place to build a curriculum for mandatory reporting of child abuse in Missouri. Emily van Schenkhof, with Missouri Kids First says there’s a communication gap that needs to be...
View ArticleMissouri Fire Marshall: cause of fire that killed four children undetermined
The state Fire Marshall’s office says it can’t determine what caused the fire that killed four children late Tuesday night at a Lake of the Ozarks condominium. Officials say the fire appears to have...
View ArticleInvestigation of fatal fire at Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks continues
The State Fire Marshal’s office says it can’t determine what started a fire that killed four children at the Lake of the Ozarks late Tuesday. Evidence indicates that the fire at the Compass Pointe...
View ArticleMissouri Human trafficking task force prepares to meet
The first meeting will be held this week of a task force to discuss human trafficking in Missouri. Gayle Reynoso with the Missouri Coalition against Domestic and Sexual Violence is a member of the...
View ArticleStatewide standards proposed for Missouri’s juvenile officer system
The final version of Missouri Juvenile Standards were presented Tuesday by members of the Juvenile Officer’s Association. Among the recommendations were implementing a code of ethics for juvenile...
View ArticleMissouri celebrates Walt Disney Day
Today is Walt Disney Day in Missouri. The global icon for kids spent part of his childhood in the Show-Me State. Walt Disney lived from age six to ten on a farm in the small town of Marceline in...
View ArticleMissouri Children’s Division says the state needs more foster homes
About 13,000 children are in foster care in Missouri, and the state Children’s Division says the need for more foster homes is growing. “We had a steady decrease in the number of foster children in the...
View ArticleMissouri struggles to find foster care for some children more than others
Finding foster homes for the 13,000 Missouri children in the state’s care is a challenge, particularly for children of certain ages and with special needs, according to Missouri Children’s Division...
View ArticleNeglect the leading complaint to Missouri Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline
More calls to Missouri’s Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline are reporting neglect than any other complaints. Children’s Division Director Tim Decker says thousands of such calls are received each year....
View ArticleProposal to be filed tomorrow would have Missouri offset cost of adoptions
One of the bills being filed early for the new legislative session would help adoptive parents pay some of the one-time costs of an adoption. The proposal would have the state, through it’s Children’s...
View ArticleAdvocate wants more state money for Missouri child sex crime caseworkers
Missouri can now investigate more cases of child abuse, but one advocate says there are too many cases and not enough investigators. The legislature passed, and Governor Jay Nixon signed into law, a...
View ArticleGroups discuss more control for videos of Missouri child sex abuse victims in...
A children’s advocacy group wants to limit who can get copies of taped interviews of children who have been sexually abused. Videotaped interviews of children believed to be victims of sexual abuse are...
View ArticleMissouri Lt. Governor Peter Kinder reflects on Senator Ed Quick’s service and...
Former Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Ed Quick (D-Kansas City) is being praised as a public servant and a “man of his word” by Lt. Governor Peter Kinder (R). Quick died Saturday. “Ed Quick was a man...
View ArticleMember hopes University of Missouri Review Commission can receive deadline...
The University of Missouri Review Commission has been asked to submit a report, with recommended changes, to the Legislature by December 31. Governor Jay Nixon (D) withheld $750,000 in state funding...
View ArticleMissouri Human Trafficking Task Force to meet Wednesday in Mehlville
Members of Missouri’s Human Trafficking Task Force say their mission is to raise awareness of the trafficking problem in the Show-Me State. Lawmakers who serve on the task force describe the issue as a...
View ArticleMissouri Human Trafficking task force will hold Columbia hearing
State lawmakers who serve on Missouri’s Human Trafficking task force describe trafficking as a “rapidly-growing” criminal industry. The panel will hold a September 29 hearing at 3 p.m. at Mizzou’s Old...
View ArticleMissouri Department of Health and Senior Services developing a state plan...
A key Missouri lawmaker worries about a “pending disaster” involving the Zika virus in the state. Representative Marsha Haefner (R-Oakville) chairs the House Appropriations Committee on Health, Mental...
View ArticleUniversity of Missouri study: changing eligibility age for WIC recipients...
According to a University of Missouri study, families who rely on assistance through the WIC nutritional program experience a 5 to 11% increase in hunger when a child turns five. Dr. Colleen Heflin...
View ArticleAnti-bullying law taking hold in Missouri schools
An anti-bullying measure is impacting operations in Missouri public schools. Republican state Representative Sue Allen of Town and Country championed legislation which went into effect in the current...
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