Missouri Children's Trust Fund

Grants to Expand Early Childhood Care Announced

Governor Matt Blunt has announced that the Missouri Department of Social Services (DSS) Children’s Division awarded new grants to 13 early childhood facilities to begin or expand early childhood care.  The amount of new funding is $948,999 bringing the total amount the Children’s Division is providing to facilities to expand early childhood programs to $3,789,400 for this year.  This year’s grants will provide the recipients with the funding necessary to serve an additional 204 children from birth to age two.  Riverboat gaming fees provide a portion of the revenues for the grants.

Governor Announces Grant to Help Protect Missouri Families from Sex Offenders

Governor Matt Blunt announced that the state has received a $50,000 grant to enhance professional training for state law enforcement personnel working to protect Missourians from sex offenders. The federal grant was awarded to the Department of Corrections to develop an advanced curriculum focused on enforcing tough new legislation recently signed into law.

Baby Cribs Recalled after Infant Deaths

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has recalled about 1 million Simplicity and Graco cribs after three children became entrapped and suffocated.  In all three deaths, consumers had installed the drop-rail side of the crib upside down, the agency said. This creates a gap in the crib that children can slide into and suffocate.  Seven other infants have been entrapped in the cribs, according to the commission and there have been 55 reports of the cribs' drop sides detaching or the hardware failing to hold the side to the crib.  The recalled cribs were sold under the Simplicity or Graco brands, from January 1998 through May 2007 and involves multiple models and model numbers.

If you have one of the cribs cited in the recall, contact Simplicity at 1-888-593-9274 or simplicityforchildren.com to obtain a repair kit with new hardware. If the crib already has the newer hardware, check the crib's drop rail to ensure it is assembled right-side up.

Related articles:
[Jefferson City News Tribune]
[St. Louis Post Dispatch]

MJJA to Offer Free Training on Adolescent Brain Development

The Missouri Juvenile Justice Association (MJJA) is pleased to present a one-day conference on Adolescent Brain Development –Best Practice for Juvenile Justice.  This informative event will be held at the Holiday Inn Select, Columbia, MO, on Friday, November 16, 2007.  Internationally acclaimed speaker, Dr. Linda Chamberlain, a health scientist specializing in childhood exposure to violence, will provide a dynamic look at new research surrounding adolescent brain development and the effects that violence, drug abuse, stress and other externals have on the adolescent brain.  The training is being underwritten by funds provided by the Juvenile Justice Advisory Group through the Missouri Department of Public Safety and the Office of Juvenile Justice Deliquency Prevention (OJJDP) and is offered free to participants. Registrations must be received by October 18 and is limited to the first 125 participants.  For additional information contact the MJJA office at (573) 636-6101.

West Plains Man Charged with First-Degree Assault for Allegedly Shaking 17-Month-Old

Attorney General Jay Nixon filed one count of assault in the first degree against a West Plains man. The felony complaint alleges Brian Hawkins caused serious injury to a 17-month-old girl by shaking her in March 2006. The Attorney General’s Office was appointed as special prosecutor on the case after the Howell County prosecuting attorney recused himself from the matter because of a conflict of interest.  The statement further alleges that a pediatrician from St. Louis Children’s Hospital submitted an affidavit that stated the brain damage and hemorrhages suffered by the girl were characteristic of injuries caused by shaken baby syndrome. Assault in the first degree is a class A felony, punishable upon conviction by a prison sentence of no less than 10 years and no more than 30 years, or life imprisonment. [Read more]

Special Training Reaches Law Enforcement Officials

Over 100 law enforcement officials and other professionals who work with youth gathered in Kansas City earlier this month to attend training on understanding and investigating the sexual abuse of children.  The two day multidisciplinary training, offered free to attendees, was conducted by the Department of Social Services (DSS) State Technical Assistance Team (STAT) and funded by a grant from the Children's Trust Fund.  The Kansas City training is the fourth and final training in Missouri this year.  Training was also conducted in St. Louis, Springfield and Columbia and reached over 500 participants.

Children's Hospitals at the Frontlines in the Prevention of Child Abuse

The National Association of Children's Hospitals (NACHRI) has made the prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect a priority.  Learn how children's hospitals from around the country are combating child maltreatment through proactive efforts portrayed in the NACHRI Profile Series - Children's Hospitals at the Frontlines, The Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect.

Nurses For Newborns Founder Wins $100,000 Purpose Prize

Sharon Rohrbach, founder of Nurses For Newborns Foundation (NFNF), whose agency has won accolades from Oprah Winfrey to the White House, is one of five recipients of the $100,000 Purpose Prize given out by Civic Ventures, a San Francisco-based think tank that honors baby boomers as "social innovators."  Rohrbach, along with the other award winners, will be honored during a ceremony at Stanford University in November.  NFNF, a Children's Trust Fund (CTF) prevention partner based in St. Louis, provides over 16,000 home visits annually to at risk children and their families using specialized registered nurses.  Rohrbach began the Foundation in 1989 with the first CTF grant being awarded in 1990. Since that time, NFNF has expanded into 27 Missouri counties and 21 counties in Tennessee.
[St. Louis Post Dispatch]
Nurses For Newborns video clip.