Child Abuse

Three years after David Schneider was sentenced to 50 years in prison, his former gymnasts and their families live with the emotional scars of the offenses and the trauma of going to trial. Schneider continues to appeal his conviction.

Bipartisan supporters of the bill say that nondisclosure agreements are often used to silence underage victims and prevent them from speaking out.

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.

Dolnald Eugene Fields II was arrested northwest of Orlando, Florida and had been federally indicted in St. Louis in 2023 for one count of child sex trafficking.

Dozens of criminal charges for abuse have been filed against operators of Christian boarding schools in Missouri.

Incoming Senate President Pro Tem Cindy O’Laughlin said Missouri’s Children’s Division has failed in its core mission and needs to be restructured to protect vulnerable children.

The former Jefferson County judge has served as the leader of the agency investigating child abuse and neglect since 2021.

The Children’s Division is almost fully staffed now — a “remarkable turnaround” from the hundreds of vacancies it had in recent years. The backlog is now down 80% since earlier this year.

Starting salaries for Children’s Division investigators are often much lower than those in other governments and the private sector.

While regulations on homeschooling are minimal across the nation, Illinois is among a small number of states with virtually no rules about homeschooling.