A House member wants the state to put more effort into finding family members with whom to place children who are taken into state custody, before placing them with strangers.
Representative Dave Griffith speaks with Alysa Jackson (left) and Sarah Bashore (right) with the Central Missouri Foster Care and Adoption Association (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Griffith’s House Bill 1563 would require the Division to make “diligent searches” for biological parents when a child enters state custody. In the case of an emergency placement, the Division would search for grandparents. If they can’t be found or aren’t fit, it would then look for other relatives for placement within 30 days.
Sarah Bashore with the Central Missouri Foster Care and Adoption Association told the committee that her agency, serving 24 counties, helped find family members for 34 children in state care in the last two quarters of the last fiscal year. She said it could help even more children, but the Children’s Division hasn’t being asking.
She believes as employees with the Division leave and are replaced, those new hires simply don’t know that her agency and others like it are available, or how they can be used.
Bashore said her agency and others are simply more capable and have more resources than Children’s Division for doing the kinds of searches that Griffith’s bill would require, and with compelling results.
The Parson Administration has made its case to the House Budget Committee for a proposed 5.5-percent pay increase for state employees.
Missouri Budget Director Dan Haug testifies before the House Budget Committee (Photo: Ben Peters, Missouri House Communications)
The committee heard from the administration’s budget director, Dan Haug, who outlined the motivation for the plan that would cost about $72-million including $41-million in general revenue. It would set state employee pay at a minimum of $15 an hour and kick in February 1, if it can get through the legislature by then.
Haug said Missouri must do something to respond to recent and rapid changes in the labor market.
Haug said one reason for proposing a February 1 start date is that a stipend being paid out of federal money to state employees in some institutions came to an end at the end of December.
Excelsior Springs Republican Doug Richey agrees, but he has an issue with setting a new minimum baseline of $15 per hour for state employees’ pay. He said given existing pay structures that could set the income of some new state hires too close to the level of pay of long-term employees.
The Missouri House Budget Committee takes testimony from Missouri Budget Director Dan Haug (Photo: Mike Lear, Missouri House Communications)
Many legislative budget makers resist using federal funds to support ongoing expenses, like state employee pay. They refer to it as, “one time money.” Haug said this proposed pay hike relies only on state funds.
Other legislators asked whether studies should be done to make sure the state needs the employees it has, or that pay increases would be going to the employees who are most needed or deserving. Haug said the state has reduced its workforce significantly in the past ten years, and said such an employee pay review could take months, and changes to the labor market necessitate a quick response. He said state employee turnover in some positions and pay levels has been as high as 55-percent.
The committee has not voted on the bill which includes the proposed pay plan, House Bill 3014.
The Missouri House convened the 2022 legislative session today, then leaders from the Republican and Democratic caucuses discussed their priorities and fielded questions from the media. Here are videos of those press conferences.
A House member believes Missouri children should be taught in school how to deal with and scrutinize the constant stream of information with which they are faced every day.
Representative Jim Murphy (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
St. Louis Republican Jim Murphy believes all media has one thing in common: that it was created by someone, and created for a reason. He thinks children aren’t being equipped with how to figure out, in each case, what that reason is and how to deal with it.
House Bill 1585 would create the “Show-Me Digital Health Act.” It would have the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education create a curriculum on the “responsible use of social media,” but Murphy said his aim is to teach how to critically analyze information whether it comes through news, entertainment, advertising, or anything else.
Murphy’s bill would have DESE create a curriculum to cover things including the purpose and acceptable use of social media; identifying online misinformation; and applying protections for freedom of speech for online interactions in schools as provided by DESE.
The bill also specifies that the bill should cover cyberbullying prevention and response. Murphy said bullying goes beyond interactions between bullies and victims, but is fueled by what children see online.
Murphy stresses he doesn’t believe this is a partisan issue. He doesn’t want the curriculum to be tailored to favor information from any given sources, but to teach children to understand and dissect everything with which they are presented.
He said his legislation could be expanded to address teaching children how to be safe from online predators, scams, and other such threats.
HB 1585 would require Missouri schools to adopt such a curriculum for grades three to 12 by the 2024-25 school year and provide professional development to the teachers who would use the curriculum.
His bill has been prefiled to be considered in the session that begins Wednesday.
Women entering Missouri prisons could have a chance to bond with their infant children while incarcerated, under a proposal that House members will be asked to consider in the session starting in a few days, but that concept is not new. Prison nursery programs have existed in other states for years, and in some cases for decades.
Ellisville Republican Bruce DeGroot is sponsoring one of the bills that would create a prison nursery program in Missouri, House Bill 1897. He said as a state representative he doesn’t always have the resources to provide extensive data that can help to make a case for one of his proposals, but with this bill there is ample data on what a difference it’s made in other states.
DeGroot said while he remains passionate about tort reform, which he believes protects and supports employment opportunities, this is a bill that can have an immediate impact on individual Missourians.
Springfield Republican Curtis Trent will also propose prison nursery legislation. He says as the opening of the new session draws near he’s excited about pursuing this legislation.
Illinois began its Moms and Babies program in 2007 at its Decatur Correctional Center. Non-violent offenders are allowed to keep their babies with them until the age of two. The Illinois Department of Public Health provides health education classes as well as lactation support and guidance. Up to eight mothers and babies are able to live in the facility in safety and with staff support and counseling, and prison staff are trained on the needs of pregnant women and mothers. Other incarcerated mothers are also able to help care for the children in the nursery.
As of 2017, more than 90 women had gone through the program. Only two had returned to prison within three years of release and only two were discharged from the program.
Maggie Burke was the warden at Decatur and managed the state’s women’s facilities until 2017. She said the program has been tremendous in her state and she thinks Missouri should absolutely begin its own.
Debbie Denning, who was part of the exploratory team that created Illinois’ program and was Deputy Director for the department’s Women and Family Services Division, agrees with Burke.
Burke said the programs in Illinois also take into account the unique needs of incarcerated women, who often are dealing with and need to recover from trauma.
Denning said in Illinois there were those who were skeptical about creating a nursery program, and she was proud to watch their attitudes change once it was in place.
Among other states that have a prison nursery program is Nebraska, where, as of 2018, there had been a 28-percent reduction in recidivism within 3 years of a participant’s initial offense and a 39-percent reduction in participants returning to prison custody. From 1994 to 2012, Nebraska’s program saved that state more than $6-million.
Both Trent and DeGroot say they have talked to the Missouri Department of Corrections and the office of Governor Mike Parson (R) and received positive responses to this idea.
Missouri House legislation has led to a man securing a chance at parole from prison in the next year, about 69 years earlier than he expected.
Bobby Bostic
Bobby Bostic was sentenced to 241 years in prison after an armed robbery and carjacking in 1995. Bostic, who was 16 at the time, was tried as an adult and would not have been eligible for parole until 2091, when he would be 112.
A House amendment that became law this year as part of Senate Bill 26 makes eligible to apply for parole anyone sentenced to 15 years or more while a juvenile. The change gave Bostic a chance at a parole hearing after more than 20 years in prison. That hearing was completed recently and Bostic was granted parole. He will be released late next year.
Bostic’s plight became an issue for the legislature in large part through the efforts of O’Fallon Republican Nick Schroer, who was glad to hear about the parole board’s decision.
Schroer took up Bostic’s case in 2019, and then last year with his support, Kansas City representative Mark Sharp (D) sponsored the amendment to Senate Bill 26 that led to Bostic getting a parole hearing.
Soon after hearing about Bostic’s case, Schroer met with him at Jefferson City Correctional Center. He learned that while imprisoned Bostic has earned a GED, an associate’s degree, has completed courses from Adams State University and Missouri State University, and completed more than 30 rehabilitation classes and programs. He has helped other inmates pursue their education, and has become a published author.
Representative Nick Schroer (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
It was after that meeting that Schroer began pressing for Bostic to have a chance at parole.
That began with a letter to Governor Mike Parson (R) asking him to take executive action on Bostic’s case. More than 100 legislators in both parties and both chambers signed that letter.
Bostic was sentenced to 241 years in prison on a series of charges stemming from a 1995 incident in which he, then 16, and an 18 year-old robbed a group of people delivering Christmas presents to the needy. One victim was shot and sustained a minor wound. The pair then carjacked and robbed a woman.
None of the victims of Bostic’s crimes opposed him being given a chance at parole. Some testified that he had little involvement in the crimes and that the 18 year-old was the instigator. While Bostic received more than two centuries in prison, the accomplice pleaded guilty in exchange for a 30-year sentence.
Retired Circuit Judge Evelyn Baker, who handed down Bostic’s sentence, has become one of the most ardent supporters of his parole and represented him at the hearing.
Bostic is not expected to be released until late next year. Sharp said he will spend much of the time until then preparing to return to freedom after 20 years behind bars.
Representative Mark Sharp (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Roughly 100 others in Missouri’s prison system could have a chance at parole under the language that helped Bostic. Schroer said for those and others getting out of prison, there are people throughout the state who want to help them start over.
Other portions of Senate Bill 26 have led to a court challenge that could see everything in it struck down. Sharp and Schroer say they aren’t sure what it would mean for Bostic’s case should that happen, but say they will be watching developments and remain committed to helping Bostic get a chance at freedom.
Missourians with felony convictions are no longer blocked from working in places that sell lottery tickets, and face less restriction in working where alcohol is sold, under a law that took effect over the summer. Advocates say the change is a “game changer” for people who get out of prison and want to get their lives back on track.
Henry Mikel and Representative Cheri Toalson Reisch, recently had the chance to meet and talk about her legislation, which allowed him to have his current job.
Mikel is open about his past, which includes a 2nd degree assault charge, and that he is recovering from drug addiction. He is staying at in2Action, a program that helps those released from prison transition back into life and stay out of prison. He recently began working at a convenience store close to the facility. It’s a job he couldn’t have gotten just a few months ago because the store sells lottery tickets.
He thinks the new law is making a big difference for him, and will do so for others in similar circumstances.
He became emotional in expressing gratitude that the law passed. He said with the holidays approaching it will allow him to do something for his two young adult children.
Mikel expressed thanks not only to Representative Toalson Reisch, but to all the legislators who voted for her proposal, and to Governor Mike Parson (R) for signing it into law.
Some would dismiss or even look down on a job such as working at a convenience store, but advocates agree it is a big deal for someone in a position like Mikel’s. He adds that he genuinely enjoys working there, and even as a child he thought it could be a fun job.
Wednesday at the Missouri Capitol there was a sense of new energy in the air. Christmas decorations were going up, the weather was that of a spring day, and most of all, new bills were dropping everywhere. December 1 is a day when Missourians get a first look at what legislators will consider as the filing of bills for the 2022 legislative session began.
Representative Cyndi Buchheit-Courtway files a piece of legislation for the 2022 session. (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Farmington Republican Dale Wright said it’s often better for legislation to be filed early, as that can give it a better chance of gaining traction early in the session and a better chance at passage. That means a lot of proposals are brought in on day 1.
Prefiling can feel very different for House Democrats, who face a supermajority of Republicans. Kansas City Democrat Ashley Aune said even when proposing legislation they know will be opposed, members of her caucus can be serving a purpose. She said one piece of advice she has held onto came from fellow Representative Tracy McCreery (D-St. Louis).
Legislators can begin filing legislation for the coming session on December 1 of the preceding year. (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Joplin Representative Lane Roberts (R) said he believes it’s important for each legislator to give consideration to not only their own bills, but what others are filing, and that includes those in the opposing party.
A lawmaker with decades of experience in law enforcement plans to file more legislation meant to help victims of domestic violence in ways he wished he could have during his career.
Representative Lane Roberts (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Representative Lane Roberts (R-Joplin) said in his career, including as Joplin’s Police Chief, he was often frustrated at seeing how abusers used the court system to continue to intimidate and persecute victims.
Jennifer Carter Dochler with the Missouri Coalition against Domestic and Sexual Violence says the issues the bill would address are ones seen time and time again in cases throughout Missouri.
Roberts proposes specifying that when a person receives notice from a court that a hearing will be held on an order of protection against them, that serves as notification of any orders the court issues on the date of that hearing. He said this is because often a person who is the subject of an order of protection will violate it, then say in their defense that they didn’t attend the hearing and therefore didn’t know the order had been put in place. He said this amounts to pleading ignorance, and case law has supported this defense.
Another provision would allow victims to testify in court via video conferencing. Carter Dochler said in addition to victims having to make time to go to court over and over, each time having to incur costs for things like travel and childcare, there are many safety concerns for them when testifying in court. Allowing them to provide testimony over video would be a simple fix.
Roberts called the video conferencing language one of the pieces of the bill he’s the most committed to, because he’s seen that victims can often be reluctant to testify.
The bill would also specify that victims and their witnesses don’t have to reveal home or workplace addresses when testifying in court, unless the court deems it necessary.
A provision the Coalition specifically wanted would clarify that a court can order payment of attorney fees incurred by a victim before, throughout, and after a proceeding. Carter Dochler said because the current statute includes the word, “or,” an attorney successfully argued in one case that the abuser wouldn’t have to cover fees for all of those time periods.
Roberts said based on the response he’s gotten from advocates, he already plans to change some of the language he’s prepared. In particular, he expects to amend a provision that would bar prosecutors from offering plea bargains to defendants facing certain levels of domestic violence charges.
“Maybe we overshot on that,” said Roberts.
Other pieces of this bill would require anyone convicted of domestic violence to pay $1,000 to a shelter in the same city or county as the victim; and require that when they are ordered to take a class on domestic violence, they must pay for it.
In the 2021 session Roberts proposed other domestic violence statute changes that became law in June. These allowed for orders of protection to be extended for up to a lifetime; covered pets under orders of protection; and expanded the definition of “stalking” to include the use of technology such as GPS and social media, or the use of third parties.
Roberts said those pieces of legislation drew something of a “fan following” in Missouri, and for good reason.
