Child Abuse

Incoming Senate President Pro Tem Cindy O’Laughlin said Missouri’s Children’s Division has failed in its core mission and needs to be restructured to protect vulnerable children.

The former Jefferson County judge has served as the leader of the agency investigating child abuse and neglect since 2021.

The Children’s Division is almost fully staffed now — a “remarkable turnaround” from the hundreds of vacancies it had in recent years. The backlog is now down 80% since earlier this year.

Starting salaries for Children’s Division investigators are often much lower than those in other governments and the private sector.

While regulations on homeschooling are minimal across the nation, Illinois is among a small number of states with virtually no rules about homeschooling.

While each state has different regulations for homeschooling, Illinois is among a small minority that places virtually no rules on parents who homeschool their children.

A lawsuit by nearly 100 former detainees alleges Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice officials allowed rampant sexual abuse in its detention centers between 1996 and 2017.

“The subcommittee identified issues like inadequate case assessments and families declining services, leading to case closures,” a state report states.

A GOP-sponsored bill would eliminate the formal process for 14- and 15-year-olds to work and only require a signed permission slip.

The Illinois House also passed measures providing climate change-related professional development for teachers if funding is allocated; expanding pregnancy-related care, as well as adding transparency and reporting measures to prisoner medical release hearings.