Missouri Department of Social Services

Gov. Mike Kehoe says the alteration prioritizes healthy foods and nutritional value. It would restrict the use of SNAP benefits to purchase candy, prepared desserts, soda and other drinks.

There are more than 37,000 federal employees in the state of Missouri that could be impacted, as well as certain state agencies' funding, if Congress doesn't pass a budget bill.

In a wide-ranging interview, MoHealthNet director Todd Richardson discussed some of their big challenges — such as incoming work requirements, and new federal restrictions on a tax that helps Missouri pay for the program.

The new federal law is expected to eliminate $1 trillion in federal spending on Medicaid over the next decade. University Health in Kansas City, which counts on Medicaid for more than half of its patient revenue, expects a huge financial hit but vows that cutting services and staff will be the last resort.

Despite no legislative action on boosting Missouri Children's Division starting salaries, Gov. Mike Kehoe says Department of Social Services leaders could soon take action themselves.

Advocates worry that tens of thousands of vulnerable Missourians will lose Medicaid and food stamps because of new administrative barriers proposed by the GOP-led Congress. Missouri has already come under fire for failing to administer benefits on time.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture requested personally identifiable information from SNAP recipients including names, dates of birth, addresses and Social Security numbers, along with total SNAP benefits received. Kansas, however, refused the request.

Missouri’s system for providing legal representation to families ensnared in the foster care system is highly decentralized and has little state oversight. The result is that some parents go without legal help at all, while kids stay in foster care far longer than the national average.

The legislation, which state Rep. Jim Murphy called "a pro-life bill that everybody agrees with," also expands tax credits for maternity homes and diaper banks and creates a "Zero-Cost Adoption Fund."

A federal judge said Missourians living in poverty "have gone hungry" due to bureaucratic hurdles that the state knows about but has failed to address.

Hailey was 15 when she learned she was pregnant. After being told abortion wasn’t an option, she became determined to be a mom in the hopes of keeping her daughter from repeating the traumatic childhood in the foster care system that she experienced.

Sara Smith is in her first month as director of the Missouri Children’s Division, which oversees the state’s foster care system and child abuse investigations.