MISSOURI News

Independence, MO —




The Missouri Child Identification and Protection program will hit a
milestone Saturday during a registration event at Independence Center.

The program will register its 100,000th child at the event starting at
10 a.m. inside the mall’s food court.

The program consists of making a record of children so if they’re
kidnapped or go missing, they can be tracked and safely found. It
consists of digital photographs, fingerprints, vital child information
and emergency contacts, dental bite impression and two laminated
identification cards. The information is burned onto a miniature CD that
police can load in a computer and be entered into the Amber Alert
system.

The five-part process provides a dramatic and time-sensitive recovery
tool for authorities.

Once the child is processed through the system, which takes 15 minutes,
the parent “is armed” with a single pre-printed envelope that instructs
authorities in the event of an emergency.

Signing up a child on Saturday is free.

The program is sponsored by the Freemasons of the Grand Lodge of
Missouri.

The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

A state lawmaker from Kansas City has introduced a bill that would give police more information about child custody orders.

The legislation introduced by Democrat Rep. Jason Kander
was prompted by the case of Sam and Lindsey Porter, two children from
Independence who were kidnapped and killed by their father in 2004.

Police stopped the father, Dan Porter, when the children
were missing. But the officers didn't know that he was supposed to have
his two young children with him at the time, so they let him go. The
children's bodies weren't found until 2007.

The
Kansas City Star reports that if the law is approved, it would require
that information on protection orders uploaded into a statewide database
include custody and visitation arrangements.

People who injure or kill a baby by shaking
the child could face tougher penalties under legislation moving through
the Missouri House.
The House has endorsed a measure expanding
Missouri's child abuse law to specifically cover causing a baby's death
or injury by shaking.

Sponsor Jeanie Riddle, a Republican from
Mokane (moh-KAYN'), says current law makes it difficult to prosecute
people when a child dies from "shaken baby syndrome."

Her legislation would make it a crime to recklessly cause head injuries to any child.

A person who commits child abuse in Missouri
currently faces up to seven years in prison and a $20,000 fine. Under
Riddle's legislation, anyone who commits child abuse on a child under
the age of 2 would face five to 15 years in prison.



Shaken baby bill is HB1317

Online:

Legislature: http://moga.mo.gov
http://www.kait8.com/story/17098516/mo-house-backs-stiffer-penalties-for-baby-deaths

JEFFERSON CITY — Seven years after 18-month-old
Gavin Jordan was murdered by his mother’s boyfriend, family members are
continuing to push for changes in state child abuse laws in hopes of
preventing similar deaths.


The Willard
child was killed in 2005. His grandparents, Tim and Debi Davis, returned
to Jefferson City on Tuesday to testify before a Senate panel on a bill
addressing how abuse investigations are handled by the Children’s
Division of the Department of Social Services.
Senate Bill 758


Sponsor: Sen. Jay Wasson, R-Nixa
What it does: The
measure makes changes to several laws regarding the handing of child
abuse claims. Among the changes is a requirement barring investigators
from leaving a business card if no one is home during an attempted
visit.
Where it is: The Senate Health, Mental Health, Seniors
and Families Committee held a hearing Tuesday, but did not vote on
whether to approve the bill.

“We’re not here to condemn the Children’s Division,” Tim Davis told lawmakers. “It’s a tough job and they take it on.
What
we tried to do is take a little bit of the personal out of it and look
at things we think could have helped save our grandson’s life.”
Under the proposal:
•
The Children’s Division is required to review a case if multiple calls
on the same child are received within a 72-hour period.
•
Caseworkers are barred from leaving a business card on the door of a
suspected abusive parent if no one is home at the time of a visit.
• Hotline call-takers have to tell callers to dial 911 if he or she believes the child is in imminent danger.
•
A case review must be initiated if a child dies or is seriously
injured. Any review must occur within three days of the child’s death.
Jordan’s killer, Joseph W. Haslett, is serving a life sentence after he was convicted in 2006 of second-degree murder.
This
is the fourth year the Davises have asked lawmakers for the changes.
Last year, the bill made it out of the House but encountered problems in
the Senate.
Sen.
Jay Wasson, R-Nixa, has taken up the bill this year, in hopes that he
can shepherd it through the Senate and over to the House, where it has
more support.
Wasson
noted that some changes in the bill have already been implemented by
the Social Services department, such as the 72-hour investigation
requirement. But supporters say a law is still needed.
“We want to make sure the changes are in statute so everyone knows what goes on,” Wasson said.

One of the more contentious portions of the bill is whether case
workers should be allowed to leave a business card. In past years,
lawmakers said a card could serve as a “wake-up call” to the suspect.Debi Davis said a caseworker visited the home of Jordan’s mother twice and left cards both times.
Davis
believes the cards tipped off Haslett to the DSS investigation and
allowed him to craft a story explaining Jordan’s injuries.
The Davises compared it to a police officer leaving a business card at the home of a suspected meth cook.
“When
a child’s life is in danger, they leave a business card on the door
stating we were here, please call,” Davis told lawmakers.
“How does this benefit the child in harm’s way? It doesn’t.”
No one testified against the bill during the Wednesday hearing.
The Social Services department allows the case worker to determine whether to leave a card.
Barbara
Brown Johnson, the Child Advocacy Center executive director, agreed in
an interview that leaving a business card could tip off a suspected
abuser that an investigation has started.
Barring that practice could help prevent another situation like Jordan’s death.
“My response would be that it could be a little more effective way to approach child abuse investigations,” Brown Johnson said.
However,
she noted that case workers often have a hard time tracking down
subjects of a hotline call, even if the individuals are not aware of an
investigation is occurring.
Investigators may leave a card if they think it will help them meet with the child in person.

http://www.news-leader.com/article/20120329/NEWS01/303290059/child-abuse-investigations-hearings?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Special%20Reports

Missouri killing - AMBER ALERT

Posted on: 9:13 pm, March 18, 2014, by Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) _ The mid-February kidnapping death of a 10-year-old Springfield girl has led to calls to changes Missouri’s Amber Alert system.

Fourth-grader Hailey Owens was walking just a block from her home when she was abducted. Springfield police responded within 10 minutes of the initial 911 call. But the statewide child abduction alert didn’t go out for more than two hours.

The Kansas City Star reports that a grassroots campaign in southwest Missouri is working to speed up an alert system that requires three-page forms be filled out by hand and then sent by fax.

Middle school football coach Craig Michael Wood has been charged in the girl’s death after police reported finding her body in Wood’s basement.

http://fox2now.com/2014/03/18/amber-alert-changes-sought-after-missouri-killing/