Missouri child welfare agency isn’t seeking to add staff despite chronic turnover

By: Steph Quinn

Outlets: Missouri Independent

Published: January 26, 2026

Words: 1,472

Last Updated: 3 weeks, 3 days ago

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Missouri’s child welfare agency has for years struggled with high turnover rates among staff who work most closely with children and families.

Children’s Division, the section of the state’s social services department responsible for foster care and investigating child abuse and neglect, has also had seven directors since 2018 — and during that time faced intense scrutiny from state lawmakers for failing to report missing foster children and boarding foster …

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