Missouri Department of Social Services Archives

Missouri’s governor signs major foster care legislation into law (AUDIO)

July 13, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Bipartisan legislation that aims to modernize Missouri’s foster care system and provides Medicaid coverage to homeless children was signed into law Monday by the governor in Jefferson City.

State Rep. Sheila Solon, R-St. Joseph, testifies before a Missouri House committee in Jefferson City on January 28, 2020 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

State Rep. Sheila Solon, R-St. Joseph, who chairs the House Children and Families Committee, says it’s one of the most important bills she’s passed in her eight years in Jefferson City. She’s leaving the House in December, due to term limits.

“It’s going to help children all over the state of Missouri and especially it’s going to help foster children, who are the responsibility of all of us,” Solon says.

The Missouri Department of Social Services (DSS) says there were 14,043 foster care children in Missouri as of May.

Solon’s bill aims to reform Missouri’s foster care system, by requiring the creation of a response team that will review the practices of the state Children’s Division and any contractors. The Children’s Division, which is part of DSS, is responsible for the administration of child welfare services.

Chairwoman Solon tells Missourinet that the response team is a key component of her bill.

“Some of the shortcomings, and not just our foster care system here in Missouri but all across the country is a lack of transparency, a lack of sharing data and the lack of sharing information when it comes to foster children,” says Solon.

Under House Bill 1414, the new response team must meet for the first time before January 1, 2021.

Solon says her legislation improves transparency in the foster care system, and ensures that it remains focused on the best interests of each child.

Missouri’s homeless youth will be covered by Medicaid and will have access to a free birth certificate, under the 58-page bill.

“Those two provisions, believe it or not, were not as difficult as the third provision, which allows homeless youth to contract for mental health services,” Solon says.

The bill also ensures that foster parents have access to full medical records of a child placed with them, at the time of placement.

The Missouri House approved the legislation by a bipartisan 144-3 vote. Solon credits State Sen. David Sater, R-Cassville, for getting the bill through the Senate, where it also had bipartisan support.

Craig Stevenson, the policy director of “Kids Win Missouri,” also praises the bill.

“The passage of this bill is the work of passionate policymakers and it will positively impact children of all ages,” Stevenson says, in a statement.

The new law will take effect on August 28.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with State Rep. Sheila Solon, R-St. Joseph, which was recorded on July 13, 2020:

Low-income Missourians struggling with cooling bills during pandemic now have more options

June 18, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The state Department of Social Services (DSS) has announced an additional $15 million in funding for the low-income home energy assistance program (LIHEAP).

State Department of Social Services (DSS) Acting Director Jennifer Tidball briefs Capitol reporters in Jefferson City on June 16, 2020. She was joined by Governor Mike Parson (photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

DSS Acting Director Jennifer Tidball made this week’s announcement during a Statehouse press conference in Jefferson City, where she joined the governor. Tidball tells Capitol reporters that the program assists low-income Missourians with payments for their summer cooling bills through September.

“The additional dollars doubles the maximum benefit amount to $600 per household and allows the Department of Social Services to serve a greater number of Missourians,” Tidball says.

She emphasizes that dangerously high temperatures can make homes unsafe.

“Excessive summer heat is dangerous and an additional hardship for many Missouri families struggling financially and unable to afford their cooling bills,” says Tidball.

To be eligible for LIHEAP, low-income Missourians must be responsible for paying home cooling costs. They also must have $3,000 or less in bank and retirement accounts, and have a household income of 135 percent or less of the federal poverty level.

That is a monthly income of $2,897 or less, for a family of four.

About 115,000 Missouri households received LIHEAP assistance in federal fiscal year 2019.

Tidball says Missourians who have questions about the program can call DSS at 855-FSD-INFO. That number is answered weekdays from 6 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Click here to read more about the LIHEAP program. DSS also notes some contracted agencies may also provide emergency services, including emergency lodging and central air replacement and repair.

Missouri set to restart food stamp recertification checks on July 1

June 17, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

Missouri set to restart food stamp recertification process on July 1

The Missouri Department of Social Services’ temporary waiver of recertification for SNAP program participants ends this month. The process was suspended during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

Jennifer Tidball, Acting Director of the Missouri Department of Social Services, joined Gov. Mike Parson today at the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City to announce the state will begin checking again on Missourians getting food stamps to ensure they still qualify for the benefits.

As of April 30, 360,937 Missouri households or 752,315 individuals receive Food Stamp/SNAP benefits. More than 16,000 SNAP households in Missouri are due for recertification in July.

Letters have already gone out to some households due for recertification next month.

Food Stamp participants must complete their recertification form every year, or every two years, if the individual is aged, blind, or disabled.

Missouri Chamber backs Medicaid expansion, which remains key issue in gubernatorial race

June 12, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s most influential business group is endorsing a Medicaid expansion issue that will appear on your August ballot. Medicaid, which is formally known as MO HealthNet, is a federal and state program that assists with medical costs for residents who have limited incomes.

Governor Mike Parson (right) briefs Missouri Capitol reporters in Jefferson City on June 11, 2020 (photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

Missouri’s current Medicaid budget is about $10 billion, accounting for about one-third of the state’s $30 billion operating budget.

The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry has endorsed Amendment Two, which will be on the August 4 statewide ballot. The Chamber describes the Medicaid expansion proposal as a “pro-jobs measure that will help fuel economic growth throughout our state.”

The Chamber quotes a study from the Missouri Foundation for Health, which says Medicaid expansion will create more than 16,000 new jobs annually during its first five years, while increasing personal income by $1.1 billion annually. The Chamber says most of the new positions would be outside St. Louis and Kansas City, and that 90 percent of those jobs will pay more than $15 an hour.

The Missouri Hospital Association says ten rural Missouri hospitals have closed since 2014.

“Let’s not miss this chance to bolster our economy during this recovery, while expanding access to healthcare for our fellow Missourians,” Missouri Chamber President Dan Mehan says, in a written statement.

36 states have approved Medicaid expansion.

While the Medicaid expansion issue will be decided by voters in August, it has also emerged as a key issue in Missouri’s November gubernatorial race. It’s also a key issue for lawmakers in both parties.

Missourinet asked both Governor Mike Parson (R) and State Auditor Nicole Galloway (D), the presumptive Democratic gubernatorial nominee, about Medicaid expansion when they filed in February in Jefferson City.

“When (Auditor) Galloway was there and (Democratic Governor Jay) Nixon was there, we had over one million people on the state Medicaid roll out of six million. So when you think of that practically, one out of every six people on Medicaid,” Parson told Missourinet in February, at the Kirkpatrick Building.

Parson also said that day that no one verified Missouri’s Medicaid rolls, for more than a decade. He also emphasized that children who qualify for Medicaid should receive those services, and that his administration wants them to receive the services.

Auditor Galloway supports Medicaid expansion, noting the ten rural Missouri hospitals that have closed since 2014. The Columbia Democrat told Missourinet in February that it’s crucial.

“We have a governor that has kicked 100,000 children off of their health insurance, and he has no vision and no solution on how he’s going to fix that,” Galloway said that day.

Medicaid expansion has been discussed in the General Assembly for years, with most Republicans opposed to it and Democrats supporting.

House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, opposes Medicaid expansion, saying it would take dollars out of the classroom. Speaker Haahr notes it requires a ten percent match, for the 90 percent draw down.

House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, agrees, telling Missourinet Friday evening that he opposes Medicaid expansion because he worries it will blow a hole in the state budget. Other GOP members on the House Budget Committee have the same concern.

Democrats in the Legislature disagree. State Sen. Jill Schupp, D-Creve Coeur, who hopes to unseat U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Ballwin, this fall, backs Amendment Two. Schupp says it will ensure that an additional 300,000 Missourians have access to health care.

State Rep. Keri Ingle, D-Lee’s Summit, spoke about the issue on the Missouri House floor during the May budget debate. Ingle predicted that day that Missourians would approve Medicaid expansion at the ballot box.

Meantime, the coronavirus outbreak has impacted Missouri’s Medicaid numbers, as well as the budget.

The number of Missourians on Medicaid has increased by about 75,000 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Online statistics from the state Department of Social Services (DSS) show there were about 848,000 Missouri Medicaid enrollees in February.

That number increased to about 923,000 in May.

Missouri governor announces $210 million in additional budget restrictions

June 2, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Citing the COVID-19 pandemic and the loss of 300,000 jobs between March and April, Missouri Governor Mike Parson (R) has announced an additional $210 million in budget withholds, including $131 million for the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).

Missouri Governor Mike Parson announces $210 million in additional budget restrictions during a Statehouse media briefing on June 1, 2020 (photo courtesy of Governor Parson’s Flickr page)

The governor made the announcement during a media briefing on Monday afternoon at the Statehouse in Jefferson City.

Governor Parson says Missouri’s unemployment rate increased from 3.9 to 9.7 percent in April. He notes that the loss of 300,000 jobs is a decrease of more than ten percent.

“It goes without saying that COVID-19 has had severe impacts on our anticipated economic growth,” Parson says. “This is truly unlike anything we have ever experienced before, and we are now expecting significant revenue declines.”

The $131 million in budget withholds for DESE include $123 million for the school foundation formula and $7 million for school transportation.

“I have always been a strong supporter of education. These were extremely difficult decisions I never thought I would have to make in just a few months,” Parson tells Capitol reporters.

The budget restrictions announced on Monday are in addition to the two rounds announced by the governor in April, of $180 million and $47 million, respectively. In addition to DESE, the restrictions will impact the Office of Administration (OA), the state Department of Corrections, the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS), the Department of Social Services (DSS) and other agencies.

Governor Parson was joined at the press conference by DESE Commissioner Margie Vandeven and other Cabinet members.

“It’s important to make these decisions now, so school districts can adjust before next school year. Our intent is to withhold now and avoid withholds once school begins,” says Parson.

The top Democrat in the Missouri House is blaming tax cuts approved by the GOP-controlled Legislature, for the education cuts.

“The governor’s devastating cuts to public education are as much a product of failed Republican tax policy as they are of the coronavirus pandemic,” House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, says in a written statement. “Every time Republicans chipped away at Missouri’s revenue base, Democrats warned these short-sighted decisions would pay a terrible dividend when the next economic downturn hit, and there always is a next one.”

The Missouri Legislature approved a $35.2 billion state operating budget in early May. The new fiscal year begins on July 1.

Missouri House Speaker and children’s advocates praise Wood’s selection as Children’s Division director

May 22, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

(News director J.T. Gerlt from Missourinet Versailles affiliate KTKS contributed to this story)

A veteran Missouri lawmaker who is term-limited has announced that he will be taking over as the new Children’s Division director in mid-June.

State Rep. David Wood, R-Versailles, listens to testimony during the May 21, 2020 meeting of the CARES Act funding working group at the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

State Rep. David Wood, R-Versailles, made the announcement Friday morning on Missourinet Versailles affiliate KTKS (FM 95.1). Wood joined news director J.T. Gerlt in-studio for a live interview.

Wood notes there have been five Children’s Division directors in the past seven years.

“I have promised that I will take this job for at least four years,” Wood says. “And I told the Governor (Mike Parson) that we need stability there and I would stay as long as he was there for sure, and longer.”

The Children’s Division is part of the state Department of Social Services (DSS), and is responsible for the administration of child welfare services.

Children’s Division responsibilities include foster care and adoption. The division also partners with local child care providers through the child care subsidy program, which helps Missouri families to become self-sufficient.

The division works with families, communities and the courts toward ensuring the safety and well-bring of Missouri children.

Wood, who’s in his eighth and final year in the House because of term limits, was first elected to the Legislature in 2012. He also serves as the House Budget Committee’s vice chairman.

He tells KTKS that he hopes his experience will help in funding the Children’s Division.

“I know it’s going to be a tough budget cycle because the revenues aren’t coming in, we’re going to have to look at cuts,” says Wood. “And with my experience on the budget and knowing how to deal with that and how to defend certain pieces, I think I’m going to be a good advocate for the department.”

Representative Wood tells Missourinet he will start as Children’s Division director on June 15, and that his resignation from the House will be effective just before that.

Missouri House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, praises Wood’s appointment. Haahr has served in the Legislature with Wood for eight years.

“Rep. Wood is one of the most knowledgeable and respected members of the state legislature and will be an incredible asset to the state in his new role,” Speaker Haahr tells Missourinet.

The appointment is also praised by a lobbyist who represents “Kids Win Missouri.” That’s a coalition of groups and individuals who are working to improve the well-being of Missouri children.

“Representative Wood’s passion for keeping children safe, supporting families, and working to make state systems better will all come together perfectly in this role,” Craig Stevenson of “Kids Win Missouri” tweeted on Friday.

Missouri households eligible for free or reduced school meals can get pandemic payment

May 19, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

Missouri families eligible for free or reduced price school meals can get a one-time pandemic electronic benefit transfer (P-EBT) payment. The state Department of Social Services says the benefit is available to each pre-K through 12th grade child in the household who qualifies.

Missouri households eligible for free or reduced price school meals can get pandemic payment

The aid is intended to help cover the cost of meals students have eaten at home on school days for March, April, and May. The amounts per child are $57 for March, $125 for April, and $120 for May. The maximum benefit per child is $302.

The state and school districts are working together to get applications out next week to student households to apply. Missouri estimates nearly 458,000 students could qualify for the aid.

“We know how important school meals are to so many Missouri families,” Commissioner of Education Margie Vandeven says in a press release. “While public schools across the state have served over 5.4 million meals to students while school buildings have been closed, we know there is a need for more assistance and our team stands ready to make that happen.”

Only households getting food stamps that received their benefits in March automatically get a P-EBT benefit of $302 for each eligible child added to their existing EBT card and do not need to apply. Benefits will automatically be loaded to cards this week for around 196,325 students.

All households that did not get a food stamp benefit in March must apply and provide income information for March, April, and May to receive the P-EBT payment for each month the child is eligible. About 137,723 households or 261,675 children could get P-EBT aid.

Households can complete the application sent from their school district online through PrimeroEdge or mail the paper application by June 30 to DESE, Food and Nutrition Services.

What you need to know about the revised Missouri budget proposal

April 29, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

The Missouri Legislature will have a big job now that lawmakers are back to work – dealing with a projected state budget shortfall of about $700 million. Members have been on break for about one month due to the coronavirus threatening the state.

The Missouri House and Senate convene on January 9, 2019 for a joint session to commemorate the 100th General Assembly (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

The Missouri House of Representatives is considering a revised state budget for the fiscal year beginning in July. The $34.9 billion budget outline is about a $4.5 billion increase over Gov. Mike Parson’s original fiscal plan released in January. It includes $10 billion in state general revenue, $14.5 billion in federal funding and $10.3 billion in other funds.

The blueprint includes two major differences from what Gov. Parson recommended in January. The latest version no longer includes a 2% pay raise that Parson recommended for most state workers and MoHealthnet is planning to use a savings plan in which the state moves to an outpatient fee schedule that is tied to Medicare. According to Chris Dunn with Missouri House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith’s office, upwards of $90 million would be saved in hospital and managed care reimbursements.

The revised budget plan includes about $10.4 billion to the Missouri Department of Social Services. Most of the Social Services budget goes to Medicaid costs.

About $3.5 billion in base funding would go to Missouri’s K-12 public schools – the same amount as in the current year’s budget. As for school bus transportation, $100 million is being proposed – a reduction of about $7 million compared to the current budget year.

Missouri Senate

About $1.5 billion would go to the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development – a roughly $200 million increase over the current year. The figure includes both the general revenue cuts that Representative Smith proposed and an increase of federal authority should federal funds be made available to support the state’s two-year and four-year colleges and universities. Under the plan, they would get a 10% reduction in funding compared to the current year.

The Department of Corrections budget proposal would be about $805 million – a $24 million increase over the current year. About $38.5 million would go to reimbursing county jails for transporting inmates and holding offenders who end up going to state prison – the same amount as the current year’s budget.

The Missouri Department of Transportation would get about $3 billion, compared to $2.93 billion in the current year’s budget.

Under the House plan, there would be some shuffling of the size of the state’s workforce. Missouri would have 53,935 state workers, a net increase of three full-time equivalent state employees.

Full-time equivalent, or FTE, refers to the number of hours worked by a single employee in a week. FTE is used to convert the hours worked by part-time employees into those worked by full-time staff.

The largest staff increase is 197.5 FTEs the governor requested to be added in the Department of Public Safety to help with the pandemic. The largest reduction would be 128 FTE workers in the Department of Corrections. As the offender population has declined, the agency plans to consolidate certain housing units so that some housing units can be closed. This is allowing the department to reduce vacant FTE positions.

The Missouri House is debating the budget bills and final approval is expected today. Then the Missouri Senate will go from there. Senate President Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, says the Senate Appropriations Committee is planning to take up the budget on Saturday and work through the weekend.

Missouri Senate panel wraps up work on $5.8 billion coronavirus response plan

April 7, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

A Missouri Senate committee with a say in the state’s piggy bank has sifted through Gov. Mike Parson’s request for $5.8 billion in extra cash during the current state budget year. Members of the Senate Appropriations Committee did the work while some of them donned protective masks and kept their social distance from one another. The committee hearing was live streamed so the surroundings were absent of some staffers, lobbyists, media and members of the public.

The funding plan, which would be used in the state’s response to the coronavirus, includes $5.1 billion in federal funds, $247.5 million in state dollars and $379 million in other funding. When the federal money would come in, exactly how much Missouri would get and if it will be a lump sum or a round of payments is unknown.

Missouri Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on April 7, 2020. Due to the coronavirus outbreak, the hearing was live streamed and some committee members wore face masks.

Some of the highlights of the request include about $1 billion in federal funds to Missouri communities and $900 million to the Missouri Department of Public Safety to help the state and local governments pay for protective equipment.

During the committee hearing, State Budget Director Dan Haug says the market on personal protective equipment to fight the coronavirus is ridiculous.

“We think a 90-day supply, which would take us through the end of the fiscal year of PPE – the personal protective equipment, is about $150 million,” he says. “That’s very fluid. I will tell you we had an order for PPE for 30 days. It cost us 18 million dollars. A week later, it cost us $40 million.”

Sen. Jeanie Riddle, R-Mokane, says she represents counties with zero personal protective equipment.

“Not for firefighters, not for law enforcement, not for their health care providers – nothing. So, I hope that we have the access to be able to distribute that money around the state and not just two communities only,” says Riddle.

An estimated $600 million would be reserved for temporary hospital sites – roughly $100 million each for three months. Whether or not the state actually needs these places as hospital overflow locations will depend on the severity of the respiratory virus throughout the state. Under the plan, the state would hire 199 full-time equivalent temporary employees to help at these sites.

Another big chunk of cash – $1.5 billion in federal funds – would be for K-12 public schools and $304 million in federal dollars would aid Missouri’s colleges and universities.

The Missouri Department of Mental Health could get $22 million in federal money to help with crisis counseling, suicide prevention programs and individuals with developmental disabilities.

For the Missouri Department of Social Services, the state would provide nearly $334,000 to help with additional nursing care, $528,000 in federal money to help victims of domestic violence and $40 million in federal funding for nursing homes.

Sen. Bill Eigel, R-Weldon Spring, spoke about the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on Missouri nursing homes, specifically about personal protective gear. Eigel, a member of the Senate Conservative Caucus, said they need additional funding and offered an amendment to prioritize $125 million for the care centers. Haug said the amendment would result in cuts to other places in the budget.

Several members voiced support for Eigel’s proposal, including Sen. Mike Cunningham, R-Rogersville. He cites a nursing home in his district on the brink of closure.

“Possibly within three to four weeks, there’s going to be 100 and some people who will have to relocate. There’s no place for them to go in the area and I just think it’s the wrong thing to do,” says Cunningham. “My concern is where else can we go to get money if we can’t do this. This is a population that definitely needs it.”

Committee Chairman Dan Hegeman, R-Cosby, left the line open for later discussion.

Hegeman has requested a monthly tracking for lawmakers to know where the money is coming from and how it is being spent. Haug says the state is working on getting this system in place.

The Senate committee has taken the governor’s position in some cases. In other cases, it’s taken the House Budget Committee’s or has come up with its own changes.

The full Senate plans to take up the package on Wednesday. The plan would then move on to the Missouri House of Representatives.

To see the governor’s full list of recommendations, click here.

More figures on Missouri’s 50% decline in Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline calls

April 6, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

Since March 11, the state has had a 50% decline in the number of calls to the Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline – another mark left by the coronavirus. Sara Smith, Deputy Director of the Missouri Children’s Division, says the hotline had about 154,000 calls last fiscal year.

Missouri’s Social Security offices halt in-person services

“I mean average right now would be around 650 (daily calls) and we’re seeing about less than half of that,” she says.

Mandated reporters, at schools and some daycares and churches, are not seeing kids in person like they normally do.

“This is even lower than what we even see in the summer when school is out,” says Smith. “Probably because some daycares have also closed and after-school activities and churches, which are some of our other pretty important reporting parties.”

The Department of Social Services, Children’s Division is also very concerned that social isolation and the unprecedented pressures parents and families are experiencing are elevating the risk for child abuse or neglect.

“There are some stressors that would definitely be a concern during this period of unchartered time,” she says.

Children’s Division workers are still connecting with families, providing assistance, and helping to ensure that kids are safe. Smith is pleading to schools, churches and daycares to check in on their kids from time to time by telephone or online.