The Children's Division of The Missouri Department of Social Services launched their Family-Centered Services program to connect families with resources and prevent children from being placed in foster care, when possible. On this episode of MOmentum for Change, Judge Darrell Missey, the Director of Children's Division, talks about the state of child welfare that inspired these services, efforts that result in meaningful change, and the important role that domestic and sexual violence agencies play in this proactive, preventative process.

Notes:

• A Plan to Rebuild and Reform Children’s Division: https://dss.mo.gov/cd/docs/A-plan-to-Rebuild-and-Reform-Childrens-Division.pdf

Content warning: some episodes of MOmentum for Change have conversations that include content and descriptions of domestic and sexual violence, which may be alarming or activating for some listeners. Please take care and visit the MOCADSV Directory at www.mocadsv.org to connect with supportive services.

The Missouri Battered Women’s Clemency Coalition, also known as the Missouri Clemency Project, launched in 1999, and remains an important part of the Missouri movement’s history. Join Amy Lorenz-Moser for a discussion of the 25th Anniversary of the project and her decades-long work to obtain clemency for incarcerated survivors of violence.

Notes:

• The Perfect Victim: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2121734/
• The Missouri Battered Women’s Clemency Coalition: A Collaborative Effort in Justice for Eleven Missouri Women: https://scholarship.law.slu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1323&context=plr

Content warning: some episodes of MOmentum for Change have conversations that include content and descriptions of domestic and sexual violence, which may be alarming or activating for some listeners. Please take care and visit the MOCADSV Directory at www.mocadsv.org to connect with supportive services.

The Missouri 2024 legislative session came to a close last month, on May 17th. In this episode of MOmentum for Change, MOCADSV Public Policy Committee members, Dr. Sara Brammer, Vice President of Family Violence Services at Synergy Services and Jessica Woolbright, Executive Director at Saint Martha’s discuss their passion for public policy, notable victories from this legislative session, and policy developments that are happening at the federal level. They also reflect on their careers in service of survivors of violence and draw meaningful connections between these services and their work for positive policy change.

Episode notes:
• 2024 End of Session Report from MOCADSV: https://www.mocadsv.org/legislative_updates/2024-end-of-session-report/
• Pregnant women in Missouri can't get divorced. Critics say it fuels domestic violence: https://www.npr.org/2024/05/03/1247838036/divorce-pregnant-women-missouri-abortion-marriage-abuse
• How a decades-old Missouri law makes it harder for pregnant women to get divorced: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/missouri-pregnancy-divorce-1.7196704#:~:text=Ashley%20Aune%2C%20a%20Missouri%20state,harming%20women%20experiencing%20domestic%20violence
• The American President with Annette Bening and Michael Douglas: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112346/

Content warning: some episodes of MOmentum for Change have conversations that include content and descriptions of domestic and sexual violence, which may be alarming or activating for some listeners. Please take care and visit the MOCADSV Directory at www.mocadsv.org to connect with supportive services.