‘Big shoes to fill’: Missouri child advocate to be replaced amid child welfare turmoil
Kelly Schultz, longtime director of Missouri’s Office of Child Advocate, will leave the post this month amid turmoil in the Children’s Division, the child welfare agency whose cases her office reviews.
Schultz has led the office since being appointed under then-Gov. Jay Nixon in 2011. It receives and investigates complaints about the handling of child welfare and foster care cases. The office operates in the governor’s administration independently of the Department of Social Services (DSS) which houses the Children’s Division.
She told DSS staff last week that her last day would be Nov. 30, according to DSS acting director Robert Knodell.
Schultz spoke to The Star and said that she has “poured my heart and soul into the Office of Child Advocate.” At the core of the office, she said, “are the child welfare professionals I’ve been able to bring on board.” Those five staffers will remain, she said.
“I love the work the office has accomplished and I’m excited to see what it does in the future,” Schultz said. “And really and truly, I want the next director to be successful.”
Schultz declined to further elaborate on her leaving the office.
The transition comes as the Children’s Division faces intense scrutiny over high worker caseloads, staff turnover and low morale — and recent findings by a federal watchdog that the agency had failed to keep track of and report missing foster children. Roughly 1,000 children go missing from foster care at some point each year.
Testifying before the House Children and Families Committee last month, Schultz said the report was no surprise.
“I still see concerns regarding documentation, I still see concerns regarding timely reports, that when a child is missing, how many days it takes to actually report them missing,” she said.
She described the Children’s Division as “an agency in duress,” with seven directors over 10 years, challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic and budget cuts last year that eliminated nearly 100 positions.
Multiple sources said Wednesday they expect Parson to replace Schultz with Rep. Becky Ruth, a Festus Republican, real estate agent and former high school teacher. Ruth is chair of the House Transportation Committee and has served in the legislature since 2015. She is barred by term limits from running for re-election next year.
She could not immediately be reached for comment. Parson’s spokeswoman Kelli Jones declined to comment on a potential replacement for Schultz.
The director of the Office of Child Advocate is jointly appointed by the governor and the chief justice of the Missouri Supreme Court. Schultz had been serving since her six-year term expired.
“The office of child advocate is an incredibly important part of our system,” said Jessica Seitz, executive director of Missouri KidsFirst. “It’s a trusted other set of eyes on some cases that can be really complicated.”
Seitz said she’s grateful to have an OCA in Missouri.
“Kelly brought both policy expertise and knowledge of players in the system,” Seitz said. “She has a strong grasp of the whole field. She had a really strong vision for the role of OCA. And Kelly earned the respect of the field during her tenure.
“There are big shoes to fill.”
Seitz said she’s hearing that Ruth will be Schultz’s successor.
“And if so, she has a heart for kids and we look forward to the same cooperative relationship we’ve had with OCA since its inception.”
Schultz has become known in Jefferson City for her knowledge of child welfare issues and policy and has spent years working with lawmakers.
She has been “invaluable in informing legislation and systematic changes,” said Emily van Schenkhof, executive director of the Children’s Trust Fund, the state’s foundation for child abuse prevention, “She has informed dozens and dozens of bills. Legislators call her regularly and ask her for advice on how to navigate all aspects of child welfare.”
“She has lived the life and walked the walk and done more than probably anyone I know to help make Missouri a safer place for our children.”
House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, a Springfield Democrat, said it was a “huge disappointment” to hear of Schultz’s departure. She said Schultz turned the office from a political appointment to “what it is now, where it is truly a place that holds folks accountable and protects our children.”
“It blows my mind that in the middle of all that’s happening with the Department of Social Services, and all of the problems that are going on, that the governor would make such drastic shifts,” Quade said. “Representative Ruth is a great public servant but for me, when the department is in disarray, we need to be having people with expertise in child welfare at the helm in every possible position.”
Lawmakers this year tried to increase Schultz’s oversight of the Children’s Division, passing a bill that would have created a program in the Office of Child Advocate to investigate safety complaints from division staff. Parson vetoed it, writing that the bill “unnecessarily undermines the existing administrative structure” within the division.
This story was originally published November 17, 2021 at 2:58 PM.
