Empowering You January 2018 Newsetter

Empowering
you
OUR MISSION
Advocating for the
wellbeing of all
Missourians through
civic leadership,
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research.
JANUARY 2018 NEWSLETTER

JANUARY 2018
NEWSLETTER
Policy Priorities
Raise the Age #18in18
By Christine Woody p6
Which Way the Wind Is Blowing In the Missouri General
Assembly
By Jeanette Mott Oxford, Executive Director p 3-4
Investing in Generations Beyond Our Own: A Crucial
Issue in the 2018 Legislative Session
By Traci Gleason, Guest Columnist
Communications Director, Missouri Budget Project p 5
Hunger
A Year in Review: Work to End Hunger in Missouri
By Christine Woody p7-8
Take Action
Seeking Volunteers to Monitor and Report
Out on Policing Data
By Don Love p 4
S E C T I O N S
08-09 Chapter Highlights
10 Calendar
10 Staff Contacts

JANUARY 2018 NEWSLETTER
Which Way the Wind Is
Blowing In the Missouri
General Assembly
By Jeanette Mott Oxford, Executive Director
Here’s how you recognize a member of Congress. They’re the ones walking around with their fingers up in
the air. And then they lick their finger and they put it back up and they see which way the wind is blowing.
You can’t change a nation by replacing one wet-fingered politician with another. You change a nation when
you change the wind. You change the way the wind is blowing, it’s amazing how quickly they respond.
Excerpt from an interview with Rev. Jim Wallis
From On Being (radio broadcast), 11/29/2007
There is so much injustice in the
world. Where is the best place to
take action to bring change?
Take heart. You do not have to figure
out the answer alone. By engaging
with a statewide advocacy
organization with a proven track
record like Empower Missouri, you
can participate in campaigns that
change the way the wind blows in
Missouri. And over time we’ve
developed expertise in reading “wind
signs” so that we keep the wind in
our sails or at our backs.
This year the wind signs say our
three priority issues are wellpositioned
for progress:
Criminal justice reform may be
1.
fertile ground for legislative
action. According to presentations at
the Justice Reinvestment Task
Force, Missouri’s prison population
has been growing at a rate that
means that a new prison might need
to be built in 2021 at a cost of about
$175 million, plus an annual
operating expense of $27 million.
Clearly, it is time to look for
alternatives that reduce incarceration
rates while preserving public safety.
Groups as diverse as Empower
Missouri, the Missouri Catholic
Conference, the Clark-FoxFamily
Foundation and the Show-Me
Institute are aligning around a similar
criminal justice reform agenda. That
is definitely a sign of which way the
wind is blowing, and here are
indicators of recent progress:
Raise the Age (#18in18) – Rep.
Schroer (R-O’Fallon) has
introduced House Bill (HB) 1255
and Sen. Wallingford (R-Cape
Girardeau) has filed Senate Bill
(SB) 793. See an article by
Christine Woody in this edition of
Empowering You with more
details about #18in18!
Choosing judicial discretion
through risk assessment instead
of mandatory minimums – Rep.
Galen Higdon (R-St. Joseph)
has filed HB 1596.
Offering older prisoners a
chance at parole (data says
older prisoners seldom reoffend)
– Rep. Tom Hannegan
(R-St. Charles) has introduced
HB 1359.
Through formation of the
2. Missouri HIV Justice Coalition,
we have been generating
windpower needed to modernize
Missouri’s outdated and
medically inaccurate HIV policies.
By our next newsletter we hope to
reveal the sponsor’s name and the
bill number for a modernization bill!
We are currently on Draft # 4, and
we are very thankful to the Center
for HIV Law and Policy for sharing
their expertise on improving the
language. Stay tuned!
Cont’d on p 4
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JANUARY 2018 NEWSLETTER
Cont’d from p 3
The recently passed federal tax
3. changes make our work on safety
net issues more important than
ever. It appears the tax changes are
step one in an irresponsible and
dangerous process by current
majority party leaders. First the deficit
increases due to windfall tax cuts and
other changes that benefit the
wealthiest taxpayers, and then a
push is made for “welfare reform”
and deep cuts to crucially important
programs. We need to strengthen
SNAP, housing assistance, Medicaid,
the Child Health Insurance Program
(CHIP) and other programs that
assist struggling families, not gut
them. When we all do better, we ALL
do better. It’s time we act on that
truth.
Our annual conference theme in
2017 was “Persisting and Organizing
to Win.” Please stand with us in this
effort and know the satisfaction of
changing the way the wind blows and
then using that windpower to fuel
legislative victories that improve the
quality of life for all in Missouri!
Seeking Volunteers to
Monitor and Report Out on
Policing Data
Empower Missouri has analyzed the Vehicle Stops Report from the Attorney
General’s Office and reported on disproportions in traffic stop data since
2010. We also offer insights on how communities may go about addressing
possible problems. Several members of the Human Rights Task Force
combined insights during much of that period, but currently we have a
shortage of volunteers for this project.
As we transition from task forces to a more stream-lined advocacy structure
with a focus on targeted outreach, we can continue to be the statewide
leaders on interpreting the Vehicle Stops Report data if we can assemble a
small team that shares commitment to this project. The goal is to generate
reports that meet Empower Missouri standards around careful research, nonpartisan
framing, and evidence-driven conclusions, but do not require a high
degree of staff supervision.
The elements include data analysis, familiarity with policies being developed
by respected professionals and support for advocates working with local civic
and law enforcement officials. Anyone with basic competence in
spreadsheets can handle the data. The writings of experts such as David
Harris (who started us on this project), Lorie Fridell and Michelle Alexander
provide the guidance. Local officials often appreciate help identifying
problems and finding solutions that improve relationships between police
officers and community members. And where police officials do not
appreciate such help, community members may especially appreciate the
data and guidance from authors and professors!
Happy Holidays from
Ashley, Christine, AJ,
JMO, & Tracy!
If this sounds like a project that you’d like to join, please contact Don Love,
573-230-6446, or dmaclove@gmail.com.
EMPOWERING YOU | 04

JANUARY 2018 NEWSLETTER
Investing in Generations
Beyond Our Own:
A Crucial Issue in the 2018
By Traci Gleason, Guest Columnist
Communications Director, Missouri Budget Project
Legislative Session
Decades ago, our parents and
grandparents made a critical
decision that shaped the future of our
state. By developing quality public
schools and universities, a strong
public health network, and reliable
infrastructure, among other
investments in generations beyond
their own, they not only laid a
foundation for future Missourians, but
they themselves benefited from the
economic rewards.
Unfortunately, years of bad tax policy
have resulted in an outdated and
unfair tax structure, and have limited
our ability to pass on this promise to
others.
Most recently, legislators, facing a
budget shortfall caused by corporate
tax cuts, pitted the fate of some
Missourians against others. Although
seniors and people with disabilities
didn’t cause the shortfall, legislators
focused on cutting either home- and
community-based health services or
the circuit breaker tax credit that kept
many living independently at home.
But the corporate tax cuts were just
the latest of many blows to
Missourians. Our state’s income tax
hasn’t been updated since the Great
Depression, and many low-income
Missourians pay the highest tax rate,
right alongside millionaires.
Hundreds of millions of dollars of
special tax incentives are handed out
every year with little accountability.
And many aspects of the system
were developed in the days when
merchants used the type of
mechanical calculators now
displayed in history museums.
As a result of decades of corporate
tax loopholes and giveaways on top
of neglect, Missouri is investing less
and less in its schools, its public
health infrastructure, and its
institutions of research and higher
learning. While the state commitment
to its public schools may look like a
higher number, when adjusted for
inflation – and the higher number of
children enrolled – Missouri spends
less on K-12 education per student
than it did in 2007. State funding per
many lowincome
Missourians pay
the highest tax
rate, right
alongside
full-time state university student
dropped by one-third in the last
decade, and our public health
spending per capita is now among
the lowest in the country.
What’s more, low- and middleincome
Missourians pay a higher
percentage of their income in the
state and local taxes that support
these services than do wealthier
Missourians. In fact, the higher you
go on the income scale, the less
you pay proportionately.
And beginning in January, Kansasstyle
tax cuts will start phasing in
here in Missouri – further eroding
our shared foundation by giving big
tax cuts to corporations and the
very wealthiest while leaving
crumbs for low- and middle-income
Missourians.
This dated system full of loopholes
is unfair to working Missourians,
who are left holding the bag as
schools lose teachers, college
tuition skyrockets, and families
struggle to pay bills.
Missouri can do better. Our longsimmering
budget crisis was caused
by an unfair and unbalanced tax
system, and there are many ways
we can correct past mistakes. By
modernizing our tax policies for the
21st century, repealing loopholes
that incentivize tax avoidance,
updating our income tax, and
creating an earned income tax
credit, we can make sure that
Missourians are treated fairly.
With the passage of the federal tax
bill in December, 2017, Missouri
has a new window of opportunity to
discuss our state tax failings and
begin to make much needed
improvements. And by investing in
Missourians, we can make our
economy more prosperous in the
process.
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JANUARY 2018 NEWSLETTER
#18in18
Raise the Age
By Christine Woody,
St. Louis Region and
Criminal Justice Coordinator
Panelists at #18in18 Forum at MSU in Springfield, including Rep. Nick Schroer on far right.
It is time for Missouri to join the 45 other states and Raise the Age
of juvenile jurisdiction.
In Missouri, 17-year-olds can’t vote, serve on juries, join the
military, or buy a lottery ticket. They aren’t treated like
adults. There’s only one exception: Kids are automatically
charged, jailed, and imprisoned as adults the day they turn
17, even for the most minor offenses. Raise the age would
change the law so that 17 year olds would start in the
juvenile justice system instead. Of course, 17 year olds
charged with the most serious of crimes could be certified as
adults the way other younger juveniles already are.
Two bills have already been filed for this
legislative session:
House Bill 1255– by Rep. Nick Schroer
Senate Bill 793– by Sen. Wayne Wallingford
Raising the age will:
Improve public safety: Adults leaving our
state prisons are three times more likely to
re-offend and go back to prison than youth
leaving our juvenile facilities. Our juvenile
justice system is better at holding kids
accountable and getting them on the right
track.
Respect Parents’ Rights: When 17-yearolds
are arrested as adults, their parents do
not need to be informed of the arrest and do
not have a right to be involved in the court
process. But in juvenile court, parents play
an important role in their children’s cases.
Protect our Children: 17-year-olds don’t
belong in adult jails and prisons. Youth
housed in adult jails are more likely to
commit suicide than youth in juvenile
detention. Youth in adult prisons face high
risks of violence and sexual assault, and
they often spend up to 23 hours of every
day in solitary confinement, leading to
physical and psychological harm. Forty-five
other states have already made this
change.
#18in18 Bill Sponsors Representative Nick Schroer and Senator Wayne Wallingford.
Empower Missouri is working very hard to
make 2018 the year that Missouri raises the
age! Join our efforts for #18in18! To learn
more visit: www.raisetheage.org or contact
Christine Woody,
christine@empowermissouri.org
EMPOWERING YOU | 06

JANUARY 2018 NEWSLETTER
A Year in Review:
Work to End Hunger in
Missouri
By Christine Woody
Excerpt from This Is Hunger by Mazon exhibit.
Empower Missouri was busy in 2017,
working to support safety net
programs and to end hunger in our
state. Below is a retrospective look
back at our work in 2017.
If you are interested in learning more
or getting more active in anti-hunger
work in Missouri please contact
Christine Woody at
christine@empowermissouri.org.
Empower Missouri worked closely
with MAZON to bring the This is
Hunger Exhibit to Missouri (St.
Louis and the Kansas City Area).
Empower Missouri helped initiate the
work in Kansas City but was much
more intricately involved in the
events in St. Louis. Empower
Missouri helped coordinate the
exhibit to take place over three days
in July, with hundreds of individuals
visiting the exhibit. In addition, we
helped coordinate an interfaith
service that addressed hunger with
approximately 100 in attendance.
Finally, we coordinated a legislative
reception that attracted a dozen
legislators and aides, including staff
from both Senator Blunt and Senator
McCaskill. Our executive director, the
president of United Hebrew
Congregation and a MAZON staff
member were interviewed on “St.
Louis on the Air”, on the local NPR
affiliate and talked about the exhibit
and hunger in our community.
Additionally, an outcome of the event
was a food drive conducted by
legislators who attended.
Empower Missouri conducted media
advocacy throughout the year.
Empower Missouri worked with the
Food Research and Action Center to
get the word out to Missouri media
on the School Breakfast Scorecard
and the Hunger Doesn’t Take a
Vacation report. We co-released a
report with the Coalition on Human
Needs called “Poverty and Prgress:
The State of Being Poor in Missouri
and New Threats Ahead”. Empower
Missouri also worked closely with
National Low Income Housing
Coalition on a press release about
their Out of Reach: The High Cost of
Housing 2017 report. Certainly food
insecurity and housing insecurity too
often go hand-in-hand.
Empower Missouri held five
statewide task force calls throughout
the year to brief attendees about
legislative issues related to nutrition
programs, including proposed
changes to the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program
(SNAP) and Temporary Assistance
for Needy Families (TANF) and
outcomes of a 2015 welfare reform
law that has decreased participation
in both of these programs.
Our Kansas City chapter held an in
person meeting at the beginning of
Hunger Action Month.
We included articles on the Farm
Bill, The This is Hunger exhibit and
World Food Day in our monthly
newsletter.
One of the workshops at our
statewide Annual Conference
focused on housing and food
insecurity for low wage workers. For
that workshop, we had speakers
from the National Low Income
Housing Coalition and the Center
on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Empower Missouri created county
level hunger fact sheets that we
shared with state level legislators
during our meetings with them in
2017.
On the Federal Level, Empower
Missouri coordinated a call with
Sen. Blunt’s staffer. Empower
Missouri had ten advocates from all
corners of the state, as well as
different advocacy sectors
(education, food bank, food pantry
and retail), who shared with the
Cont’d on p 8
EMPOWERING YOU | 07

JANUARY 2018 NEWSLETTER
Cont’d from p 7
staffer our hopes for the Farm Bill in
2018. Besides Senator Blunt,
Empower Missouri has also met with
staff of Rep. Ann Wagner and Sen.
Claire McCaskill.
Empower Missouri has been
intricately involved in the Partners for
the Breakfast in the Classroom
coalition. Empower Missouri has
worked with this group throughout
2017 to increase Breakfast in the
Classroom programs and to educate
school districts about opportunities
for assistance to implement that
program. Empower Missouri has
been on coalition calls, coordinated
meetings with districts and other
interested parties in the state, and co
-released reports and press releases
about this issue to the media.
Empower Missouri has also worked
closely with the Department of
Elementary and Secondary
Education (DESE). We gave them
educational materials for their
districts, as well as working with
them to gather data about school
breakfast that we plan to use, with
FRAC, to develop a report about the
Breakfast in the Classroom program.
Empower Missouri staff attended the
FRAC Hunger Policy Conference,
the FRAC Hunger Leaders Meeting
and the Center on Budget and Policy
Priorities SNAP Policy Conference
this past year, as well as the Center’s
Invest 2017 event.
Empower Missouri is looking forward
to progress toward ending hunger in
2018!
In order to better meet the needs of
the people in the Bootheel region,
which contains some of the highest
poverty rate counties in our state,
Empower Missouri will conduct forums
in several areas of southeast
Missouri. Our Bootheel programs will
address safety net issues faced by
our community members.
Sikeston, Poplar Bluff, Cape
Girardeau, and one of our most
southern counties are the areas that
we have selected for initial outreach.
These forums will have to parts: 1) to
find concerns of our community
What’s
New in the
Bootheel?
By Tracy Morrow
Southeast Missouri Health Organizer
members; and 2) to provide a panel
of experts on the issues to answer
questions and provide education.
The first forum will be in Cape
Girardeau. The topic of this forum
will be housing inequities and
homelessness.
After several forums are held, a resource
fair will also be offered. Organizations
will be on-site to provide
resources for community members
who visit the fair.
More details will be available soon.
Join Us in our Efforts!
EMPOWERING YOU | 08

JANUARY 2018 NEWSLETTER
St. Louis
Free Friday
Forums
January 19, 2018 from 12- 1:30pm
At the Highlands Golf Course
Addressing Missouri’s Opioid Crisis: Use, Treatment and Laws
February 16, 2018 from 12:00- 1:30pm
At the Highlands Golf Course
How Would You Spend Missouri’s $27 billion?: Policies and Priorities
March 16, 2018 from 12:00- 1:30pm
At the Highlands Golf Course
How Attacks on Workers in Missouri Affect EVERYONE in Missouri
Free CEU’s
available &
$12 Lunch
Buffet
April 20, 2018 from 12:00- 1:30pm
At the Highlands Golf Course
Know Your Rights: Immigrant Rights, Protestor Rights, Individual Rights
RSVP to Christine Woody christine@empowermissour.org
SAVE THE DATE-
February 1 5-7pm @ Schlafy Bottleworks
May 24 th - 5:00- 8:30pm
Il Monastero, 3500 Olive St.
Annual Award Dinner- Tony
Messenger- Keynote Speaker
Tickets $35
EMPOWERING YOU | 09

JANUARY 2018 NEWSLETTER
January 3 - First day of 2018 Legislative Session
January 5 - United Way of Greater Kansas City and Empower Missouri co-host "Legislative Session
Preview: A Public Policy Forum" - Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral, 415 W 13th St, Kansas City,
MO 64105, 8:00-10:00 a.m.
January 10 - Criminal Justice Task Force, House Hearing Room 2, State Capitol Building, 10:30 a.m.-1:30
p.m.
January 10 - State of the State Address by Gov. Greitens, House Chamber, State Capitol Building,
7:00 p.m.
January 15 - Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day - consider making it a "day of service" or a "day of justicemaking"
rather than just "a day off"
January 18 - Empower Advocate Call (a new way to update you on our campaigns and recent
events in the General Assembly) - 4:30-6:00 p.m.
January 19 - St. Louis Chapter Forum - Addressing Missouri’s Opioid Crisis: Use, Treatment and Laws,
Highlands Restaurant in Forest Park, Noon-1:30 p.m.
Save the Date: February 1 — St. Louis Legislative Happy Hour
EMPOWERING YOU | 10