Gov. Mike Kehoe has named 18 people to a statewide child-welfare task force, as lawmakers continue to press the Children's Division over foster care deaths that include a Macon County case.
The Missouri Child Welfare Task Force is charged with developing a common definition of child safety, finding gaps in state laws and agency policies, recommending protocols, and proposing training and quality-control measures, according to the Missouri Independent. Recommendations are due Nov. 15. The group dissolves at the end of the year. Kehoe created the panel by executive order Aug. 25.
Department of Social Services Director Jess Bax said the standard guiding child-welfare decisions should not depend on a child's county, circuit, or provider, according to the Independent.
The Chronicle reported that at an August legislative hearing, lawmakers questioned Children's Division Director Sara Smith about the death of Korbin Papadopoulos, 17, who had type 1 diabetes and autism. Macon County workers placed him nearly 300 miles away with a foster parent licensed only to care for relatives who later told police he had not been trained to manage diabetes, according to the Independent. Korbin died June 6 from diabetic ketoacidosis.
Members named by Kehoe include Smith; Department of Social Services legal director Teri Armistead; State Courts Administrator Kathy Lloyd; Sen. Jill Carter; Reps. Ken Jamison and Melissa Schmidt; juvenile officers Rick Gaines of St. Louis County and Bill Prince of Greene County; Newton County Sheriff Matthew Stewart; Audrain County Associate Circuit Judge Melissa Buckman Young; Southern District Court of Appeals Judge Joseph Hensley; Christian County Circuit Judge Jessica Kruse; and others, including provider and advocacy leaders.
The Chronicle also reported rising caseloads and investigation delays in parts of the state, including averages far above the division's 15-case target in St. Louis County and the city, and frontline turnover of about 40%.