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Two separate audits of the Kansas foster care system have found troubling trends in child welfare. After a 2018 lawsuit, which alleged that foster kids moved around so much they were essentially homeless, the state agreed to improve on a handful of metrics. But years later, the situation is just as bad — and in some cases, worse.
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June was the first month of eligibility reviews for Missouri's roughly 1.5 million Medicaid enrollees. Children accounted for half of all the state's Medicaid terminations, mostly for procedural reasons.
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The increased reimbursement rate will go to child care providers who accept a subsidy to increase access for low-income and foster families.
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Legislation directs social services, mental health departments to collaborate on solutions to clients being boarded in medical and mental health facilities ‘without medical justification’
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The legislation changes Missouri law by requiring judges start each child custody case with the presumption that “equal or approximately equal” parenting time for each parent is in the child’s best interests. But the bill, passed in the final hour of the legislative session, could make it more difficult for victims to escape abusive relationships and protect their children.
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A skateboard can cost $150 — on the low end. Members of the Lawrence Skaters Association and other organizations collected gently used materials to build skateboards for kids who wouldn't be able to afford them.
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Enrollment for Missouri-funded preschool programs fell during the 2021-22 school year, according to a new report by the National Institute for Early Education Research. Statewide pre-K and child care advocates hope recently passed legislation improves access.
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The state funding is divided into two pots; more than $55 million is set aside for school districts and charter schools, while about $26 million is available for community-based child care providers. The programs are supposed to prioritize low-income families.
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Sir'Antonio Brown, just six years old, was shot and killed Wednesday night in Kansas City, Kansas. Gun violence has surpassed car accidents as the leading cause of death for American children, according to a December report in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Local KSHB-TV anchor and reporter Gabriella Pagan suddenly disappeared from television last year. She told Up To Date she had to leave her career in journalism to confront childhood trauma and abuse in her past. That’s how she became an advocate for kids in Jackson County’s Family Court system.
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Community mental health centers in Kansas are becoming certified. That means more money for providing services, which could bring expanded programs.
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Vivian Wilson Bluett is an emerging, self-taught artist who wants her art to create community conversations around social and racial justice and history.