Missouri Department of Social Services

House Speaker Rob Vescovo is calling for the U.S. attorney’s office to get involved because he believes local officials ‘either turned a blind eye to, or helped to cover up’ abuse at Agape Boarding School.

The Missouri Department of Social Services’ Children’s Division has come under intense scrutiny from lawmakers for low morale, low pay and high vacancies of caseworkers, which has led to caseworkers being assigned far more cases than they can handle.

The lawsuit follows passage of a supplemental budget bill that bars abortion providers or their affiliates from being reimbursed through Medicaid.

About 275,000 Missourians were expected to gain health care coverage in the first year, according to estimates used by the Missouri Governor's Office. But just over 62,000 people have actually signed up so far.

Legal advocates are going to court to seek benefits for Missourians who they say are being illegally shut out by a protracted application process.

A federal lawsuit filed Tuesday against the Missouri Department of Social Services alleges that its unresponsive call line and burdensome application process for food assistance violates federal law and residents' constitutional rights.

Voters in Missouri and Oklahoma approved Medicaid expansion to begin in 2021. But while Oklahoma has enrolled over 200,000 people so far, Missouri has enrolled fewer than 20,000. Why are two such similar states handling the public insurance rollout so differently?

Months after a court ordered Missouri to expand Medicaid, the state has been slow to reach out to hundreds of thousands of eligible residents who could benefit from the public health care program.

During the tenure of Jennifer Tidball, the Department of Social Services faced criticism over its handling of reports of abuse and neglect at unlicensed youth residential facilities, and its failure to report missing foster kids.

Tuesday’s hearing was only the latest example of legislative criticism of the Department of Social Services.