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‘This job is impossible’: High turnover, low morale plague Missouri child welfare agency
Eighty open cases of child abuse and neglect sat on Matt Cordova’s desk in 2017 during the height of the “hole I found myself buried in,” he remembers. Twenty open cases would have been a lot to handle; 80 was impossible. An investigator at Missouri’s child welfare department for two years, Cordova was tasked with […]
Missouri judge once again delays closing Agape Boarding School
A Cedar County judge Monday morning delayed a decision on the closure of Agape Boarding School, the Stockton-based reform school facing mounting abuse allegations from former students. Judge David Munton initially ordered Agape be shut down last week at the request of the state Attorney General and Department of Social Services. The state’s petition for […]
Court order would close Agape Boarding School after years of abuse allegations
A Cedar County judge Wednesday ordered Agape Boarding School to be shut down after years of allegations of sexual and physical abuse of students — though the order remains on pause until after a hearing Thursday afternoon.
Missouri substantiated 10 claims of physical abuse at Agape in last four months
Missouri investigators over the last four months have substantiated 10 claims of physical abuse at Agape Boarding School, a Christian reform school in Stockton that faces mounting accusations of abuse, lawsuits and calls for its closure by former students. According to records turned over to The Independent under Missouri’s Sunshine Law by the state Department […]
Federal report shows Missouri Medicaid application wait times among worst in nation
A federal report released Thursday shows that Missouri ranks at or near the bottom nationally in terms of processing Medicaid applications in the federally-permitted time.
Advocates praise Missouri’s new child trafficking law as promising first step
A new law that went into effect this week seeks to improve how Missouri combats child sex trafficking by preventing underaged survivors from being charged with prostitution, and requiring law enforcement to immediately report suspected cases to the state.
Missouri Medicaid wait list averages 90 days. The state has a month to cut it in half
Where the state stands regarding Medicaid wait lists was just one topic Friday of a wide-ranging media briefing held by leaders within the Missouri Department of Social Services, or DSS.
Lawsuits mounting against unlicensed Missouri boarding schools accused of abuse
Thirty lawsuits have been filed over the last two years against a pair of southwest Missouri boarding schools accused by former students of physical, emotional and sexual abuse.
Missouri officials vow progress as Medicaid applicant wait time remains at 100 days
State health officials faced tough questions Wednesday from the board overseeing Missouri’s Medicaid program — with a focus on the persistently long wait times for applicants and heightened federal scrutiny of the program.
Federal government steps in to help pull Missouri out of Medicaid backlog
Federal officials last month approved a plan to help Missouri deal with “ongoing and persistent” delays in processing Medicaid applications that have left the state out of compliance with federal standards for nearly a year. Longtime observers of the state’s Medicaid program say the decision by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to intervene is […]
Missouri AG Eric Schmitt beats Hartzler, Greitens to claim GOP Senate nomination
ST. LOUIS — Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt beat back a crowded field of opponents Tuesday night to secure the Republican nomination for Missouri’s open U.S. Senate seat. With most precincts reporting, Schmitt led with 45% of the vote, compared to 22% for U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler and 19% for disgraced former Gov. Eric Greitens. […]
Candidates’ ties to Missouri reform schools facing abuse allegations draw fresh scrutiny
At first, Robert Bucklin was optimistic. A former student of Agape Boarding School in Stockton, Bucklin is among numerous students who have accused the Christian boarding school and its staff of physical and sexual abuse. Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt launched an investigation into the school and ultimately recommended 65 criminal counts against 22 staff. […]