August 12, 2021 – Earlier this week, Cole County Judge Jon Beetem ruled the Missouri Department of Social Services (DSS) cannot deny enrollment into Medicaid for Missourians who qualify under expansion. Although Missourians voted to expand Medicaid in August 2020, the state legislature refused to fund it, which led to a court case to resolve the issue. The latest and final court ruling from Judge Beetem means that right now all who are eligible under the qualifications for the expanded Medicaid population can apply. Accessing life-saving care provided by Medicaid promotes public health, safety, and wellbeing. MCADSV looks forward to the positive impact this will have for survivors of violence and their families.
What is Medicaid?
Medicaid is low-cost or free health insurance for low-income people and their families. Low-income people seeking Medicaid must go through their state’s program. Missouri’s Medicaid program is called MO HealthNet, and with the change in rules, more people are able to enroll in the program.
Who is eligible?
Under the new rules, a single adult making up to $17,774 a year or a family of four making up to $36,750 a year qualify for Medicaid through MO HealthNet. For the first time, more adults qualify for low-cost or free health insurance through MO HealthNet. This includes parents who have not qualified before, as well as childless adults.
Why apply?
For many families, healthcare costs can be a significant burden. Without healthcare insurance, people are forced to choose between their health and caring for their family’s needs. With Medicaid, you can get the care you need without going bankrupt from medical bills.
If you receive health insurance through MO HealthNet, you can get the care you need when you need it. MO HealthNet covers doctor visits, yearly checkups, prescription medicines, and more. Additionally, you can get mental health services, dental care, and many preventive care services including cancer screenings, medical exams, and routine shots – at no cost to you.
How to apply:
Apply for Medicaid through MO HealthNet on the Missouri DSS website. Even if you have previously applied for Medicaid and did not qualify, check again. The rules have changed and Medicaid may be an option for you. If you received medical services on or after July 1, 2021, Medicaid may cover those costs. You must include this information in your application and submit (or postmark) by October 31, 2021.
Right now, if a newly eligible person applies online, they will likely receive a message from the pre-screening tool that they are not eligible. That is because the tool is referring to old eligibility thresholds. You can hit “next” to continue with the application. It is expected that this glitch will be addressed soon. DSS will begin making eligibility determinations once MO HealthNet’s software is updated. DSS will be reassigning existing employees from their current assignments and responsibilities in order to receive and evaluate MO HealthNet applications. However, due to current staffing capacity and funding restraints, the required system update is anticipated to take up to 60 days.
You can get free help to understand your health insurance options, including Medicaid through MO HealthNet. Call 1-800-466-3213 or visit CoverMissouri.org/help to find a trained expert near you.
July 1, 2021 – The Missouri Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence (MOCADSV) condemns the violence of white supremacy and racism. We grieve the recent loss of life of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Dreasjon Reed, Tony McDade, as well as the countless black and brown lives lost to racist violence. We reflect on the legacy of violence in our own community as we near the six-year anniversary of the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson. Right now in Missouri there are 21 active hate groups operating that are affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan and white nationalist organizations. Let us be clear when we say this: racism has no place here.
MOCADSV staff know that we must do more than condemn white supremacy, grieve for its victims, reflect and recognize our own state’s history and ongoing racism. The moral imperative of our work is to take action, to address the racism that harms the individual survivors of color who represent one in three of those served by Missouri domestic and sexual violence agencies.
We reaffirm our principles that we are called to address racism, and its expression through overt and covert violence, as inherent in our movement to end rape and abuse. Our mission is to unite Missourians with a shared value that rape and abuse must end, and we advance this through education, alliance, research and public policy. We are committed to advancing our mission through the critical lens of racial equity and justice.
Education: MOCADSV provides education and training to a broad range of audiences, and we acknowledge the different values and perceptions that exist in our state. We invite others to join us in learning how biases and structural barriers keep communities of color from being able to access resources vital to safety and well-being.
Alliance: Advocates of color have been organizing and advising the domestic and sexual violence movement for decades, but are often left on the margins. MOCADSV will continue providing leadership ladders for advocates of color to have their expertise centered in our work to end rape and abuse.
Research: One of MOCADSV’s ongoing priorities is educating the general public about domestic and sexual violence. Part of that work is compiling annual statistics on the work our member agencies do, demographic information about individuals provided with life-saving services in Missouri. MOCADSV will continue researching the extent to which survivors of color experience domestic and sexual violence, and the inequitable access to criminal justice, healthcare, education and housing.
Public Policy: We represent the voices of Missouri’s survivors. We ensure their stories are heard, and that government responds appropriately to one of the most pressing social justice issues of our time—domestic and sexual violence against women, men and children. MOCADSV is committed to centering our public policy work on health and racial equity. We have joined many other state coalitions and our national partners at the National Network to End Domestic Violence and the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence in signing a letter from the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights calling for federal reform to policing. We are also endorsing the ballot initiative to expand Medicaid in Missouri. In our work to end rape, abuse and racial violence, we must address the underlying conditions that perpetuate violence and oppression.
What is Teen Dating Violence?
Teen dating violence (TDV) is a pattern of behavior that includes physical, emotional, verbal or sexual abuse used by one person in an intimate relationship to exert power and control over another.
TDV is generally defined as occurring among individuals between the ages of 13-19 years old. Like intimate partner violence among adults, TDV occurs without respect to age, race, religion, socioeconomic status and sexual orientation.
What does Teen Dating Violence look like?
Approximately 25 percent of teens report experiencing TDV annually (Noonan & Charles, 2009). It can include emotional, verbal, physical and/or sexual abuse. In most cases of TDV, violence is used to get another to do what he/she wants, to gain power and control, to cause humiliation and to promote fear, and to retaliate against a partner (Foshee & Langwick, 2010).
How does Teen Dating Violence differ from Adult Intimate Partner Violence?
An article published by the National Institute of Justice discusses current research on TDV and concludes that there are three key differences between adult and teen dating relationships:
- Abusive teen relationships typically lack the same unequal power dynamic found in adult intimate partner violence relationships. Adolescent girls are not often dependent on their partner for financial support and do not typically have children to provide for and protect.
- Teens have limited experience with romantic relationships and negotiating conflict.
- Teen relationships are more readily affected by the influence of peers.
Because the dynamics of intimate partner abuse are different in adolescent and adult relationships, it is important not to apply an adult framework of intimate partner violence to teen dating violence.
MCADSV is recognized nationally and internationally for its innovation in tackling the chronic questions and problems faced by local advocates in providing services to all survivors. MCADSV works in partnership with a diverse community that is developing services and responses to all forms of human trafficking in Missouri. Our collaborative partnerships include trafficking survivors, service providers, faith-based groups, legislators, the Supreme Court and Attorney General of Missouri.
What is human trafficking?
The complexities of human trafficking, in addition to a wealth of additional information and statistics, are well described on the website of the national advocacy organization, Polaris. Polaris is a respected national leader in work to address all forms of human trafficking. The content below is from Polaris.
Human trafficking consists of both sex and labor trafficking.
Polaris describes Sex trafficking as one form of modern slavery that exists throughout the United States and globally.
Sex traffickers use violence, threats, lies, debt bondage, and other forms of coercion to compel adults and children to engage in commercial sex acts against their will. Under U.S. federal law, any minor under the age of 18 years induced into commercial sex is a victim of sex trafficking—regardless of whether or not the trafficker used force, fraud, or coercion.
The situations that sex trafficking victims face vary dramatically. Many victims become romantically involved with someone who then forces or manipulates them into prostitution. Others are lured in with false promises of a job, such as modeling or dancing. Some are forced to sell sex by their parents or other family members. They may be involved in a trafficking situation for a few days or weeks, or may remain in the same trafficking situation for years.
Victims of sex trafficking can be U.S. citizens, foreign nationals, women, men, children, and LGBTQ individuals. Vulnerable populations are frequently targeted by traffickers, including runaway and homeless youth, as well as victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, war, or social discrimination.
Sex trafficking occurs in a range of venues including fake massage businesses, via online ads or escort services, in residential brothels, on the street or at truck stops, or at hotels and motels.
Polaris describes Labor trafficking as another form of modern slavery that exists throughout the United States and globally.
Labor traffickers – including recruiters, contractors, employers, and others – use violence, threats, lies, debt bondage, or other forms of coercion to force people to work against their will in many different industries.
Labor traffickers often make false promises of a high-paying job or exciting education or travel opportunities to lure people into horrendous working conditions. Yet, victims find that the reality of their jobs proves to be far different than promised and must frequently work long hours for little to no pay. Their employers exert such physical or psychological control – including physical abuse, debt bondage, confiscation of passports or money – that the victim believes they have no other choice but to continue working for that employer.
U.S. citizens, foreign nationals, women, men, children, and LGBTQ individuals can be victims of labor trafficking. Vulnerable populations are frequently targeted by traffickers. Immigration status, recruitment debt, isolation, poverty, and a lack of strong labor protections are just some of the vulnerabilities that can lead to labor trafficking.
Labor trafficking occurs in numerous industries in the U.S. and globally. In the United States, common types of labor trafficking include people forced to work in homes as domestic servants, farmworkers coerced through violence as they harvest crops, or factory workers held in inhumane conditions. Labor trafficking has also been reported in door-to-door sales crews, restaurants, construction work, carnivals, and even health and beauty services.
Human Trafficking Resources
National Human Trafficking Hotline
Call this hotline to report tips or request services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, call 1 (888) 373-7888. Interpreters are available in more than 200 languages.
For assistance via text, text “HELP” or “INFO” 233733.
Serving Human Trafficking Victims: An Introduction for Domestic Violence Organizations
This free recorded Polaris webinar will provide domestic violence organizations with recommendations on how to adapt services and policies to better serve sex and labor trafficking victims.
Human Trafficking Assessment for Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Programs
This document contains questions that can be used by domestic violence and sexual assault programs to assess for potential signs that a service recipient has been a victim of human trafficking.
July 28, 2020 – On July 24, 2020 the Supreme Court of Missouri modified its earlier COVID-19 Court Operational Directives. These Directives will go into effect on August 1, 2020.
The modifications to the previous Operational Directives are as follows:
- The presiding judge or the chief judge has to make efforts to communicate to other judges and attorneys in their circuit the precautions that are being taken in response to COVID-19 and any related developments.
- If any court employee, bailiff, or other court personnel currently working in a court facility tests positive for COVID-19, the presiding or chief judge shall move that court facility to Operating Phase One or Zero (see directives for explanations of all the phases).
- Face masks are now required in all operating phases, except if a person is alone in a private office.
- The presiding judge or chief judge may modify the terms of the operating phase their court is in to make them more strict than the Supreme Court Directives but not less strict.
- A designated operating phase includes any activity being conducted in a court facility.
The Missouri Courts website has an interactive map that allows users to identify which phase their court is currently operating.
June 26, 2018 – On June 1, the distribution of what is termed “revenge porn” became a criminal offense in Missouri when legislation went into effect after it was signed into law by then-Gov. Eric Greitens on his last day in office.
The law criminalizes actions that are commonly threatened and used by abusive partners, making it a felony offense to share, or threaten to share, private sexual images of a person with the intent to harass, threaten or coerce that person.
Elements of the new crime include that the person who distributes the sexual images got them “under circumstances in which a reasonable person would know or understand that the image was to remain private; and knows or should have known that the person in the image did not consent to the dissemination” (Section 573.110 RSMo).
The threat to distribute the private sexual images is a class E felony that is legally defined as when the offender “gains or attempts to gain anything of value, or coerces or attempts to coerce another person to act or refrain from acting, by threatening to disseminate an image” of that other person (Section 573.112 RSMo).
The legislation creating the offense of “nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images” was passed by the Missouri General Assembly as House Bill 1558 (Rep. Jim Neely, R-Cameron).
