Dinkins: Greetings Friends of the 144th district!

I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving last week. I certainly enjoyed the time I got to spend with my family. Our lives are so busy throughout the year, and this is the one day that we all take time to pause and spend time with one another. The older we get, and as our families grow and our extended families get larger and larger, it becomes more difficult than ever for everyone to get together as often as we would like. That’s why the times we do get to spend together are so special.

Missouri Department of Social Services Launches Child Support Citizen Portal

The Missouri Department of Social Services (DSS), in partnership with Conduent, recently launched the Child Support Citizen Portal, a new online service designed to enhance user experience and streamline operations. Since its launch in May 2024, the portal has provided 24/7 access to child support services, allowing users to create accounts, access case information, update household details, and communicate securely with DSS staff.

The portal has already seen positive impacts, with 1,463 customers enrolled, leading to a decrease in call volume and wait times. This technology upgrade allows DSS to improve customer satisfaction, reduce paperwork, and offer faster support, strengthening its commitment to supporting Missouri families. Times have changed and we no longer have that face to face office interactions we once had, but I’m glad this will help people receive the information they need quicker.

To create an account, customers can go to my.mo.gov/child_support to sign up. They will need to agree to a data disclaimer, fill in their identifying information, and verify their email address and phone number to complete the sign-up process.

Banning child mutilation

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey landed a huge win following a two-week trial to defend a state law banning child mutilation.

The Court has left Missouri's law banning child mutilation in place, a resounding victory for our children. We are the first state in the nation to defend such a law successfully at the trial court level. We must never stop fighting to ensure Missouri is the safest state in the nation for children.

The Court’s opinion took away from the plaintiffs’ argument, opining that under their line of thinking “Any person — including a minor — would be able to do anything from meth to ecstasy, to abortion as long as a single medical professional was willing to recommend it.” The Court noted that “Courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, regularly reject that argument.”

General Bailey has long been a staunch supporter of children’s safety after he launched the first-of-its-kind investigation into the St. Louis pediatric transgender center in 2023 when a whistleblower came forward with allegations that the center used experimental drugs on children, distributed puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones without individualized assessment, and bullied parents into “consenting” to giving their children life-altering drugs. In an affidavit, the whistleblower says that the actions taken by the Center have led children to attempt suicide and that the Center never discontinued prescribing cross-sex hormones, no matter how much those drugs are harming the child. The whistleblower also has provided documentary evidence that the Center has been unlawfully billing state taxpayers to fund these actions. This whistleblower was vital to Attorney General Bailey’s trial court win today.

The pediatric transgender center ceased providing gender transition interventions to minors in September, mere days after Attorney General Bailey successfully fended off preliminary challenges to SB 49. With this court win, Missouri became the first state in the nation to successfully defend at the trial court level a law banning child mutilation. Attorney General Bailey is currently battling in Court to force the clinic to turn over documents.

As always, please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions, concerns, or suggestions you might have. As your Representative, I am here to assist you however I can. I can be reached by email at Chris.Dinkins@house.mo.gov or by phone at (573) 751-2112. Please do not contact me via social media. These messages are easy to overlook and may not be responded to in a timely manner.

CHRIS DINKINS serves the 144th District of Missouri. She can be reached by email at Chris.Dinkins@house.mo.gov or by phone at (573) 751-2112.