Greetings from your Missouri Capitol. Fall is definitely in the air around Central Missouri and for many Missourians, this is their favorite time of the year and a time to enjoy the trees and cool weather. Get out and enjoy one of the many reasons we live in this beautiful state.
The past two weeks have been busy for sure and I will give you a brief recap of what I have been up to. First, many of you may have read in this paper that I received an award from the State Veterans of Foreign Wars. I was asked to speak to the Missouri VFW Council about legislation passed this past session as well as what we are looking at for next session. After I gave them a recap and thanked them for inviting me they asked that I stay put for a minute. Then they informed me that I had been selected to receive the Legislator of the Year award for work that I had done in the House of Representatives for all of Missouri veterans. To say I was surprised would be an understatement, but I was honored and humbled to receive their award. I have spent the past two years working for the veteran community and on legislation that would make their lives better and rewarding, and I will continue to look at what we can do as a legislative body to make that a priority. Thank you Missouri Veterans of Foreign Wars for this honor.
This past week Rep. Rudy Veit and I had the opportunity to speak to the third-grade classes at Pioneer Trail Elementary school. Mrs. Pringer invited me and I asked Rep. Veit to join me and talk with their students about government and how laws are made and the process as well as the three branches of government and how each one operates and what each one's responsibility is. After talking about the three branches, we opened it up for questions and they had some very good ones for us to answer. It is very comforting to me that these students are learning this at an early age and how we as legislators work for the people of the state and each one of them and their families. Thank you Pioneer Trail Elementary third-grade classes for an enjoyable morning.
Also this past week I attended the rededication of American Legion Post 5's renovation and reopening. A great crowd turned out to help celebrate this milestone and accomplishment. Post Commander Gary Kempker said this could not have been accomplished without the generous response of the community and especially some wonderful donors and companies who helped make this day possible. He also stated that this renovation was done not just for today's veterans but for the generations of veterans to come and enj0y a place to gather and fellowship. What a wonderful community we live in.
A little over a week ago the Jefferson City City Council gave unanimous approval to convey the land where East Miller Park is located to the Veterans Administration Cemetery Division for the purpose of expanding the National Cemetery. A group of concerned citizens began work on this over five years ago and asked me to become involved a little over three years ago. I have spoken with U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt and U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley's offices in an effort to get a sit-down meeting with a decision-maker at the VA to give us approval and, if not, to tell us why. They had said once a National Cemetery is closed they won't reopen it and I asked if that was statute or policy and they let me know it was policy. I let them know that policy can be changed and I would like to go down that road and explore those possibilities. My next step is to travel to Washington, D.C. and present our case and try to make this happen. We owe it to our veterans to be buried close to home and I made that promise to see it to the end and I intend to keep my promise.
Finally, there continues to be a number of hearings in the Capitol and one that I have taken great interest in is the Social Services Committee hearing testimony on the growing problem of foster children going missing. Missouri House members aren't pleased with a lack of answers from the Department of Social Services in the wake of a federal report slamming the department's lack of response when children in foster care go missing.
The report released last week by the U.S. Department of Health and Senior Services' Office of the Inspector General is based on 2019 data. It said the state does not properly report when children are missing and doesn't do enough to keep them from going missing again if they are found.
The study found that 978 children went from missing state care at some point during 2019. In looking closely at the handling of 59 cases of children missing from foster care, it found that in nearly half there was no evidence that the state had reported those children missing as required by law.
The chair of the House Children and Families Committee and other lawmakers were frustrated by what they saw as a "passing of the buck," trying to blame that earlier administration, and a failure to follow the law and to implement programs the legislature has authorized to help the division keep foster kids safe. There will be additional hearings on this and as they happen I will keep you informed as to the outcome.
That's all I have time for in this column but as always, my door is always open and I welcome your comments and concerns for District 60, so stop by or give me a call.
State Rep. Dave Griffith, R-Jefferson City, represents Missouri's 60th District and shares his perspective on statehouse issues twice a month.