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Health insurers regulated by the state would have to cover treatment for autism under a bill that has passed the House and moved to the Senate.
Rep. Dwight Scharnhorst (R-Manchester) said during his opening remarks on the House floor that his bill would mandate the coverage of a wide range of disorders, called the autism spectrum disorder. HCS HB 1311&1341 passed the House Thursday on a 135-to-18 vote. [Read more…]
A controversial bill a year ago gets new life in the House, which has given tentative approval to a requirement that health insurers cover autism.
A year ago, concerns about the impact on health insurance premiums kept the bill from coming to the House floor for debate. This year, a measure stands on the doorstep of approval.
Sponsor Dwight Scharnhorst, a representative from Manchester, made his final plea prior to the voice vote on HCS HB 1311&1341. [Read more…]
Use drugs, lose assistance from the state, the gist of a bill passing the House and moving to the Senate.
Critics assailed the plan to strip Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, known as TANF, from anyone testing positive for drug use, still it passed Thursday on a 114-to-39 vote. It now moves to the Senate which has stalled in working on its own version. [Read more…]
A bill that would kick Missourians off a welfare program if they test positive for drugs has advanced in the House.
Do drugs; lose Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) money under HCS HB 1377 that advances in the House on a 113-to-40 vote. The bill would strip TANF money from anyone who tests positive for drug use. [Read more…]
Just how far the state can go to keep convicted sex offenders from contact with children is at the heart of a State Supreme Court case on a state law that greatly restricts activities on Halloween.
State law requires registered sex offenders to stay in their homes from 5-to-10:30pm on Halloween, turn off outside lights and post a sign stating “no candy or treats at this residence”.
During oral arguments, Supreme Court Judge Laura Denvir Stith questioned the reach of such restrictions.
“If it’s OK to restrict going outside or opening your door to others or keeping the porch light on on Halloween, although we understand why that was chosen, but legally if that’s permissible what’s the difference between that and saying you can never have your light on or you could never leave your home,” Stith asked.
Audrain County Prosecutor Jacob Shellabarger understands there is a line to be drawn.
“I believe the legislature has tailored these particular restrictions in a particular way and chosen their words carefully in doing so,” Shellaber responded. “I don’t know where the line is, your honor, but I think this is clearly on the lawful side of it.”
The case, State of Missouri v. Charles A. Aynor, doesn’t really center on the constitutionality of the Halloween restrictions, but on whether they are being applied retrospectively to Charles Raynor, who had to register as a sex offender when he moved to Missouri, because of a 1988 conviction in the state of Washington. Missouri law prohibits retroactive enforcement. The trial court found it retrospective. The Supreme Court will rule later.
Brent Martin reports.
A new report confirms the experience of veteran juvenile officers and provides the information needed to insure juvenile programs actually keep kids from pursuing a life of crime.
Deputy State Courts Administrator Gary Waint says this report is important to the state juvenile justice system and its Family Courts.
"This is benchmark work that will begin to allow us now to trend how we’re performing as a juvenile justice system," Waint says, "and inform the public about of it as well."
The report is entitled "Juvenile Offender Recidivism: 2008 Statewide Juvenile Court Report". It has been released by the State Supreme Court’s state courts administraor’s office . It is the first analysis of recidivism rates for Missouri juvenile offenders and the factors that lead to recidivism among Missouri youth. Its release makes Missouri one of only a handful of states publishing this type of information on an annual basis. In gathering the information contained in the report, all 45 juvenile officers in Missouri were surveyed. It defines recidivism as the violation of any law, whether prosecuted in the juvenile or the adult system, within a year of the initial charge.
Prior to the release of the report, juvenile officers have had to rely on shared experience, not hard facts, according to Waint. In outlining the background of juveniles most likely to re-offend Waint says the report confirms the experience of juvenile officers. The report studied juvenile offenders in 2007 and 2008. Factors that led to continual brushes with the law include: multiple referrals to the juvenile justice system, especially for assault; coming from a broken home, usually with placement in foster care; being taken into juvenile custody at an early age, perhaps as young as 13; drug and alcohol abuse; and poor performance in school.
Though Waint says the report contains few surprises for those who work in the juvenile justice system, he says it is helpful to have empirical evidence. He says that can better guide officers and help the system adjust programs to top effectiveness. Waint says the report also confirms that Missouri’s Family Courts system is very effective and can break the cycle that turns juvenile offenders into adult offenders.
Waint says intervening in a juvenile’s life pays big benefits down the road.
"If we reduce juvenile recidivism, we reduce crime, we ultimately increase public safety and, ultimately what we want to do is also reduce prison beds," Waint says.
Waint hopes the report is read, especially by state lawmakers. He says the contents of the report should convince legislators that spending money on the state juvenile justice system is a wise investment.
The complete report is online at http://www.courts.mo.gov/file.asp?id=34387
Download/listen Brent Martin reports (:60 MP3)
Missouri Juvenile Offender Recidivism Report
State officials want Missourians to get vaccinated against the H1N1 virus , once the state finally gets the vaccine.
H1N1, popularly known as the Swine Flu, has already hit the state. The vaccine is expected to arrive in Missouri by mid-October. State Health Director Margaret Donnelly says trials at St. Louis University have provided some good news.
"We will probably need only one shot for the vaccine to be effective, instead of the two shots which we had expected," Donnelly says. "That means that we will be able to get a larger number of people vaccinated more quickly. When the vaccine first comes in, we will be targeting certain groups, such as health care workers who have direct contact with patients."
Other vulnerable groups include pregnant women, children six-months old to 18-months who struggle with various health problems and the elderly who are likewise afflicted.
Donnelly expects the state will have 878,000 doses of vaccine by the middle of next month. Donnelly urges Missourians, especially those over 65, to get their normal flu shots now. They can receive the H1N1 vaccine when it arrives later.
Donnelly met with the staff of the St. Louis University Center for Vaccine Development, one of eight sites funded by the National Institutes of Health where clinical trials are under way to test the safety and effectiveness of the new vaccine. Dr. Sharon Frey, clinical director of SLU’s Center for Vaccine Development, is overseeing the tests at St. Louis University. So far, tests have proven that one shot of the vaccine can be safe and effective in fighting H1N1.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services says Donnelly’s tour of the facility on Monday kicked off a statewide campaign against the Swine Flu. The Department reports the seasonal flu causes about 15,000 illnesses in Missouri in a typical year between early October and late May. But the new H1N1 virus, which emerged in the United States in April, continued to cause illness throughout the summer.
Donnelly says more vaccine will be coming to Missouri after the initial doses, enough she says for everyone who wants the vaccine to get it.
The National Association of Children’s Hospitals is weighing in on the health care reform debate, claiming children covered by Medicaid are often being denied the critical care they need.
Doctor F. Sessions Cole, Chief Medical Officer at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, says discussion of pediatric children’s services seems to have been forgotten.
“There is a shortage of pediatric specialty providers – physicians and pediatric sub-specialist surgeons – in the United States, said Doctor Cole in an interview with the Missourinet. “And there’s really no discussion, right now, about how to improve access of children, both in cities and in rural areas, to required pediatric specialty services.”
Medicaid, MOHealthNet as it is known in Missouri, provides medical services to children in low-income families. But physicians providing services are not adequately compensated by the government.
“Medicaid reimbursement for physicians of pediatric services – pediatric doctors – is inadequate,” said Doctor Cole. “The easiest way to understand how inadequate it is is to understand that a physician who is taking care of exclusively Medicaid patients will not be able to cover her or his operating costs.”
The Association would like to see the reimbursement rates increased.
“I would propose that physicians who care for children – pediatric specialists – receive reimbursement for their services that is equivalent to the reimbursement that is given to doctors who provide medical services for adults,” said the doctor. “Right now, Missouri Medicaid pays less than two-thirds – for pediatric services – of what it would pay to an adult doctor to give a comparable service.”
Since the reimbursements paid by Medicaid do not cover the cost of providing care, many community providers either limit the number of or do not serve Medicaid patients.
A mother’s persistence has led to a change in state law, after her daughter became endangered by her father’s meth habit.
Dennine Odom of Odessa saw three years of work culminate in the signing of Hope’s Law.
"It’s amazing to have Hope here, instead of a predictable tragedy," Odom told the Missourinet, "and that we could all be here together to watch the governor sign into law, Hope’s Law."
Hope Turner is Odom’s young daughter who escaped physically unharmed, but emotionally scarred, during unsupervised visits at the home of her father in Grain Valley. Her father, as his ex-wife Dennine puts it, had fallen into the grip of methamphetamine. Everything came to a head when police arrested the father at gunpoint and removed Hope. Hop was reunited with her mother.
A drug charge against the father stuck, but child endangerment didn’t.
Was Odom surprised?
"I would say surprised is a very soft word as to how I felt about that. I was devastated," Odom said.
It wasn’t against state law to be in possession of meth in the presence of a child. She says state officials compared having meth in the pocket with having beer in the refrigerator.
"You know, you can have beer in the refrigerator, but if you drink and drive, it’s a felony," Odom quoted the officials as saying, "(The) same way with meth. You can have meth in your pocket, but if you’re taking care of a kid and not using it (it’s not against the law)."
Odom added that if a person is in possession of meth, he’s using it.
"And anybody who has been affected by meth in their life knows that’s the truth," Odom said.
Governor Nixon has signed into law HB 62 , an omnibus crime bill that contained Hope’s Law among its provisions. The bill amends child endangerment statutes to include possessing meth in the presence of a child.
The annual KidsCount report is out. It provides county-by-county data on the health and wellbeing of Missouri’schildren.
While child abuseand neglect cases in Missouriare down from last year, high school dropout rates are higher.
The Kids Countreport compares information and statistical trends on the conditions of ourstate’s children and families in all 114 counties and the City of Saint Louis.
St. Charles County,just outside of St. Louis,did the best this year. Not the case just a few miles away. St. Louis City scored lowest "across the board," says Scott Gee, director of Citizens for Missouri’sChildren. He says the areas that ranked the lowest are also the state’spoorest.
However, St. Louis did improve its numbers in all categories — save high school dropout rates — over last year.
The report breaksdown the rates for infant mortality, low birth weight, teen pregnancy, students on free or reduced lunches, babies born to mothers without a high school diploma, child deaths, children removed from homes, and violent deaths to teens.
The study also provides a breakout for various economic factors, demographics, family support systems, health and mental health.
For example, St. Louis had 1,226 high school dropouts, or 11.6 percent. St. Charles County had 449 dropouts, or 2.8 percent.
The report states that every day in Missouri:
18 babies are born with a low birth weight
41 children are born to mothers who lack high school diplomas
2 babies die before their ?rst birthday
15 children are removed from their homes
127 children receive attention from the Mo. Department of Social Services
due to reports of child abuse and neglect
1 child or teen dies
29 teens drop out of school
25 teens between the ages of 15 and 19 give birth
212,369 children live in poverty
Gee says the reportserves local and state policymakers, as well as not-for-profits at the locallevel in identifying needs and boosting certain programs.
To see how your county ranks and individual breakdowns, visit the Citizens for Missouri’s Children Web site.