The 2019 Missouri Legislature’s regular session closed in mid-May, resulting in 102 new bills passed. In June, Generate Health, along with Vision for Children At Risk and St. Louis Child Abuse & Neglect Network, sponsored a 2019 Legislative Wrap-Up. Brian Colby from Missouri Budget Project, Jessica Seitz from Missouri KidsFirst and Craig Stevenson from Kids Win Missouri shared this year’s legislative wins for children and families. Among these were new initiatives and additional budget funding toward programs that will help combat infant mortality:
- HB 664: Establishment of a Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review Board within the Department of Health and Senior Services. This review will improve data collection and reporting and develop initiatives to support at-risk populations. This 18-member board, appointed by the department director, will submit an annual report on maternal mortality with recommendations to leaders.
- HB 397: A Child Protection Omnibus, that includes Nathan’s Law, which limits the number of children that can be cared for by in-home child care providers. This helps ensure that each child, particularly those who are young and most vulnerable, receive the care and attention they need to be safe.
- $3 million allocation to home visiting programs in the children’s division. Home visiting programs bring trained nurses, educators and social workers directly to families to help them during pregnancy and as they raise their children. Read more about the impact of home visiting in FLOURISH’s recent report.
- $1 million allocated to Missouri Department of Social Services, to increase community health worker programs. FLOURISH has identified community health workers as an important link in helping families navigate resources and health information.
“In addition to these wins for families, we were pleased that Missouri legislators did not pass HB 183 and SB 76. These bills would have forced work requirements on Medicaid recipients, which makes it even more difficult for struggling families to get access to the health care they need,” said Abby Buckhouse, manager, policy and advocacy at Generate Health.
If you want to be part of the movement to make St. Louis a place where babies thrive and families flourish, contact us.
