Lawmakers in Jefferson City passed a child welfare bill this week that is now headed to Gov. Mike Kehoe’s desk. Among its key items are a ban on child marriage and the end of the state seizing foster kids’ Social Security benefits.
The House voted 129 to 14 to pass the measure, and state Sen. Mike Moon was the sole vote opposing the bill in the Senate.
Missouri House Minority Leader Ashley Aune, a Democrat from Platte County, says it is well documented how child marriage victimizes young women.
"I think the majority of these cases are women — young women — being victimized. We know stories of parents who marry their child off for drugs, for money, for whatever," Aune said. "These are young folks who often don't have much control over the trajectory of their lives, and it's just devastating to me that we have been allowing young women to get victimized this way in our state."
