Author

Clara Bates

Clara Bates

Clara Bates covers social services and poverty. She previously wrote for the Nevada Current, where she reported on labor violations in casinos, hurdles facing applicants for unemployment benefits and lax oversight of the funeral industry. She also wrote about vocational education for Democracy Journal. Bates is a graduate of Harvard College and a member of the Report for America Corps.

Missouri Independent is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.

Federal government steps in to help pull Missouri out of Medicaid backlog

By: - August 9, 2022

Federal officials last month approved a plan to help Missouri deal with “ongoing and persistent” delays in processing Medicaid applications that have left the state out of compliance with federal standards for nearly a year. Longtime observers of the state’s Medicaid program say the decision by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to intervene is […]

Missouri AG Eric Schmitt beats Hartzler, Greitens to claim GOP Senate nomination

By: , and - August 2, 2022

ST. LOUIS — Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt beat back a crowded field of opponents Tuesday night to secure the Republican nomination for Missouri’s open U.S. Senate seat. With most precincts reporting, Schmitt led with 45% of the vote, compared to 22% for U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler and 19% for disgraced former Gov. Eric Greitens. […]

Candidates’ ties to Missouri reform schools facing abuse allegations draw fresh scrutiny

By: and - July 21, 2022

At first, Robert Bucklin was optimistic. A former student of Agape Boarding School in Stockton, Bucklin is among numerous students who have accused the Christian boarding school and its staff of physical and sexual abuse. Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt launched an investigation into the school and ultimately recommended 65 criminal counts against 22 staff. […]

Missouri judge denies state’s request to dismiss federal SNAP lawsuit

By: - July 20, 2022

Mary Holmes says she subsisted on hardly any food for over a month as she struggled to recertify her eligibility for federal food assistance earlier this year. She spent hours on the phone trying to speak to someone at Missouri’s Department of Social Services (DSS) for her mandatory interview, as her prepaid phone minutes dwindled. […]