ST. LOUIS — In the comfort of her new home, 17-year-old Alyssa Lindsey cooks with care.
The teen also knows the ingredients to fix Missouri's foster care system.
"If there was just a little bit more money put into it and paid workers for the work they are doing, there would be a lot more progress and a lot more happy placements," she noted.
Alyssa is ready for a revision after being in Missouri's Children's Division for years. She's seen the revolving door of caseworkers, foster parents and foster homes.
Alyssa told 5 On Your Side the adversities she's faced.
"Especially growing up a teenager in the foster care system and no stable parental figure, it’s super hard to navigate your own life and figure out everything yourself," she admitted.
Advocating for more than 13,000 foster children like Alyssa is Missouri State Rep. Keri Ingle.
"The only reason I left is to run for office and improve child welfare policy in this state," Ingle said. "I’m happy to be working with the legislature and the director of Children’s Division and DSS to hopefully give them what they need. We are moving in the right direction. Unfortunately, we had to reach a desperate point to get there though."
Now in her fifth year in office, she's starting to see a shift.
"This year, the governor is proposing an additional salary increase of over 8% for state workers," she pointed out.
This session, the General Assembly quickly moved House Bill 14 to increase wages and at the end of February, Gov. Mike Parson signed into law a historic pay raise for state workers with an 8.7% bump.
At the end of March, state workers will see pay increases reflected in their paychecks.
While some bills cause a rift between state leaders, Ingle said this is a bill that's seen support from both sides.
"It is far less partisan than most of the issues we debate here. I think everyone can agree we have a huge deficit," she added.
The Children's Division Director Darrell Missey acknowledges pay is the missing piece to recruit and retain caseworkers.
5 On Your Side spoke to Missey before HB 14 was passed and signed into law.
"That staffing piece is really critical, which is why I think the governor’s proposal to increase salary is very important component to make this right. My hope is that when we get the pay to market value and we completely fill those positions, folks are going to feel better about staying there and have colleagues to help them do the work and take a good portion of the work," Missey said.
Missey even presented a plan to state leaders recently.
It's a guide on how rebuild and reform the Children's Division. In the plan, Missey goes over the key problems within the program and ways to fix it.
Within his first year in the leadership position, Missey has tried to tackle the numbers.
At the end of 2021, Missouri had more than 14,000 foster children.
As of Feb. 28, 2023, there were 13,372 foster kids.
"From the time I’ve started, we've reduced the number of children in foster by over 700, which is a start," Missey shared optimistically.
Missey said his goal is for the agency to move towards prevention. The way to do so is to hire more.
"We currently have a staff that is equipped to react to problems and place children in foster care. We do not have enough people to do the work on the front end to stop that from happening," he explained.
He believes all of these moves will steer the program and the children in the right direction.
As for Alyssa, her life has also taken a positive turn.
Lori Van Houten has been a CASA volunteer and a court advocate for four years, trying to guide Alyssa to a secure space.
Van Houten said recently, she had to make a life-altering decision for both of their futures.
"When her fifth placement fell through, you are not allowed be a foster parent if you're a CASA, it's against the rules. At this point, she is 17 and we are going to break the rules here. I saw the system and I'm a widowed high school teacher and I am her best option," Van Houten said.
Van Houten stopped volunteering to fill a void.
"I have a room, I love the kid, so I said just let's do this. We've made a little family here and we are going to do the best we can and make this work in every way," Van Houten shared.
Alyssa says this has given her hope and she believes these changes could be a recipe for success.
"I think it's a great placement, it's the best I've had," Alyssa said with a smile.
Since her time staying with Van Houten, Alyssa was able to get her driver's permit, search for a job, and get a sense of freedom.
Robert Knodell, acting director of the Department of Social Services, shared this statement about the passage of HB 14:
“We are incredibly thankful for the final passage by the General Assembly of the Governor’s early supplemental budget that included an 8.7% raise for all state employees. This is a historic investment in our workforce, and we appreciate the Governor’s continued efforts to advocate for state team members to receive better compensation. We are confident that this increase will help us better retain and reward our current team members for their ongoing service and dedication to Missourians, while also allowing us to recruit new team members by making us a more competitive and desirable employer.”
If anyone is interested in learning more about current job opportunities with the Children’s Division, click here for careers in Missouri or jobs listed at the Department of Social Services here.
On March 2, the Children's Division is having a job fair in St. Louis, hiring for multiple positions.
On its Facebook page, it also posts information about upcoming hiring events.
Any families who are willing to open their homes to assist children, there is more information about becoming a foster parent, including how to start the process, found here.
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