ST. LOUIS COUNTY – The State of Missouri agrees 57-year-old Lisa Jackson needs special services—yet she’s not getting them.
Her sisters have been fighting for those services for nine months ever since their mother died, leaving Lisa home alone.
“She had meningitis, and because of that, the left side of her body has been paralyzed…she lives alone, and I have two other siblings here, so we rotate going down 2-3 days a week to take care of her then we go back to our homes,” Vanessa Barton-Green explained.
Jackson would have services if it was up to Missouri’s Gov. Mike Parson, who recommended a budget of $79.4 million for 1,952 new individuals with developmental disabilities.
The General Assembly then removed the funding from the final budget that was passed, with no explanation, and even after a warning from the feds.
The U.S. Department of Justice found Missouri in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act over this very issue in June. The DOJ wrote in a letter to the Attorney General that, “The State of Missouri unnecessarily institutionalizes adults with mental disabilities in nursing facilities.”
“Missouri’s already on notice,” St. Louis County Public Administrator Timothy Weaks said. “This is gonna lead to people being homeless. This is going to lead to more people out on the streets without jobs, without things to do. These are people who have developmental disabilities or mental health needs that are going untreated.”
St. Louis’ Fabulous Fox Theatre has an identical twin People younger than you might think, he added. Weaks is responsible for those who fall through the cracks.
“I’m getting cases who are aging out of Children’s Division custody. So, these individuals are 18 or 21. They have little to no skills,” Weaks said.
We reached out to chairmen and vice chairs in both the House and Senate budget committees for answers.
Parson’s office responded, calling the fiscal year 2025 budget “disingenuous” and predicting the “…near certain need for a supplemental budget in the next session.”
Denials like Lisa’s are expected to hit about $2,000 in a matter of months. Lisa copes with the stress by working a packaging job four days a week.
“It’s not hard for me to work. I just like to work, that’s all,” she said.
Her family promises to keep fighting for her, as well the hundreds of others being denied.
Barton Green said, “Whatever I have to do to make sure she’s not forgotten, that’s what I’m going to do.”
Tuesday afternoon, Missouri House Representative Budget Chairman Cody Smith responded saying legislators appropriated $34 million additional dollars to the program this time around.
“To make the state’s ongoing expenses balance with ongoing revenue, funds were not provided in fiscal year 2025 to expand the existing program to more individuals beyond what has already been authorized. As of Sept. 16, general revenue collections were -1.9 percent, or $45,723,982.25 lower compared to this time last year,” he said.
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