Child Protective Services
Children who are abused or neglected suffer physical, mental, social and emotional damage. These children are perhaps the most vulnerable of all children, since most often it is their parents or caregivers who harm them.
Why Missouri's Abused, Abandoned and Neglected Children Need a Voice:
- Over 11,000 Missouri children were in out of home care during October 2005
- Over 1,900 Missouri children in out of home care were waiting for permanent adoptive families
- Children in out of home care have special needs:
- Physical health problems affect 30 to 40% of children in the child welfare system
- 60% of all children in out-of-home care have moderate to severe mental health problems
- Compared with children from the same socio-economic background, children in out of home care have higher rates of health and mental health problems
When a child enters state custody, he or she becomes the child of every citizen in Missouri. We have an obligation to help them recover from past abuse, abandonment and neglect.
Challenges to the Child Welfare System:
- Child protection workers are underpaid in comparison to other states
- Not for profit organizations that provide residential care and therapy to abused children and their families are not adequately reimbursed for their services. In most cases the State's contract with these organizations covers about half of the cost of the service provided
- Foster parents, guardians and adoptive families likewise are underpaid and subsidize the State in providing care with limited resources for children who have suffered from abuse, abandonment and neglect
What Missouri Can Do:
- Achieve full accreditation for the DSS-Children's Division
- Mandate regulation of all residential child care and treatment facilities
- Preserve the federal Title IV-E Foster Care program
- Protect and enhance the Adoption Subsidy program
- Ensure children entering adulthood have the adequate supports and systems in place to encourage a productive and successful life
