Missouri Department of Social Services

State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick says a review of the Children’s Division, which has struggled for years to recruit and retain staff, may not happen right away because of staff constraints in his own office.

Officials say tackling St. Louis and St. Louis County’s more than 6,000 abuse and neglect cases will require hiring more investigators.

Only 16 investigators are looking into child abuse and neglect claims in St. Louis and St. Louis County. The head of the Missouri Children’s Division says that number should be closer to 60.

In a letter Wednesday to Missouri Department of Social Services Director Todd Richardson, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services assessed how well the state is complying with rules for disenrolling people from health insurance programs for poor and disabled people. The average person calling the social services helpline had to wait 48 minutes to talk to someone.

The Wright County Republican serves as the chair of the Children and Families Committee in the Missouri House. She says her No. 1 priority in her final year in the House is to keep working to help kids.

June was the first month of eligibility reviews for Missouri's roughly 1.5 million Medicaid enrollees. Children accounted for half of all the state's Medicaid terminations, mostly for procedural reasons.

During the height of the coronavirus pandemic, the federal government issued emergency protections that barred states from removing people from the government-funded health insurance program for low-income people and families. That changes this month.

Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft tweeted that a job posting for a “diversity, inclusion and belonging leader” was an example of “left-wing indoctrination in the workplace” and the wrong use of taxpayer dollars. State agency leaders say inclusion and belonging programs help retain employees during a severe staffing shortage.

In the year after Missouri expanded Medicaid, the state struggled to sign up people for the government-funded health insurance program. Now, more than 1 million Missourians are enrolled. The federal government barred states from kicking anyone off Medicaid during the coronavirus pandemic. But when those protections expire this spring, patients will need to renew their coverage. Advocates and health officials worry that eligible people could drop off the rolls.

Missouri on average took 41 days to process a Medicaid application in September for the eligibility group which includes low-income children, pregnant people, families and adults.