November/December 2025 Newsletter

NOVEMBER - DECEMBER

2025

ADVOCACY IN ACTION

Legal Services Wins Justice for Former Foster Youth

ABOVE, L to R, Health & Education Justice Staff: Hopey Fink, Senior Staff Attorney and Amanda Schneider, Managing Attorney.

Legal Services of Eastern Missouri’s Health & Education Justice Initiative works to remove barriers that threaten children’s health, education, and stability. Recently, the team partnered with the ACLU of Missouri to secure a major settlement for a young woman whose rights were ignored during the pandemic.

When Congress passed the Supporting Foster Youth and Families Through the Pandemic Act in December 2020, it required states to allow youth who had aged out of foster care to re-enter and receive financial help. The law aimed to protect young people from homelessness and hardship during COVID-19.

But when Mikayla, a former foster youth in Kansas City, asked to return to care, the State of Missouri refused. The State also failed to notify young people of their rights or to make the option known.

In April 2021, Legal Services filed a petition in family court on Mikayla’s behalf, and the court ordered Missouri’s Children’s Division to let her re-enter care. The Division appealed, and the Western District Court of Appeals ruled that she could not use the family court process because she was over 21. The case went back to the lower court to decide if the State had met its obligations under federal law.

Legal Services then moved the case to circuit court, arguing that Mikayla had been denied critical support she was entitled to. When the State argued the issue no longer mattered because the law had expired, our attorneys fought for back pay equal to the support she should have received.

The court rejected the State’s attempt to dismiss the case and ordered mediation. The resulting settlement provided Mikayla with compensation roughly equal to the foster care assistance she was denied.

Now living with her three children in a shelter, Mikayla is thrilled with the results of the case. This victory shows how Legal Services of Eastern Missouri stands up for fairness—and for the rights of youth and families when systems fail them.

EXPANDING PARTNERSHIPS

Wells Fargo Grant Strengthens Efforts to Combat Vacancy in St. Louis

Legal Services of Eastern Missouri is honored to announce that its Neighborhood Advocacy program has been awarded a $250,000 grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation to provide legal representation to neighborhood groups working to combat vacant and deteriorated properties in St. Louis.

Vacant and abandoned properties pose a serious challenge for the region, with almost 9,000 vacant buildings in the City of St. Louis alone—most located in neighborhoods that have already borne the brunt of disinvestment.

Since 2018, Neighborhood Advocacy has partnered with more than three dozen neighborhoods and local developers to turn liabilities into assets.

Together, these partnerships have helped to revitalize 727 formerly vacant housing units, representing over $10 million in private investment.

Wells Fargo support will allow Neighborhood Advocacy to expand legal resources in two high-need neighborhoods, building on the program’s proven success. By dedicating a full-time attorney to sustained, place-based work, the program can increase the number of properties addressed from a handful each year to more than a dozen within a single neighborhood, while ensuring that neighborhood leaders—not lawyers—set the priorities.

“This grant is a testament to the power of community-led change. By investing in neighborhoods and empowering residents to take control of their environment, we’re not just addressing vacant properties—we’re fostering resilience and opportunity,” states Peter Hoffman, Managing Attorney for Neighborhood Advocacy.

This grant represents about one-fifth of the program’s budget and fills a critical funding gap. By scaling up proven legal tools in collaboration with neighborhood organizations and trusted development partners, the program will reduce vacancy, improve quality of life, and grow the tax base for the entire city.

SERVING THE COMMUNITY

Advocating for Access to Healthcare Coverage

Check out this video of Legal Services' client, Destiny,

talking about how access to Medicaid saved her daughter's life.

This is the story featured in the last edition of our newsletter.

October 16th was "Wear Purple Day" to show support during National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Legal Services' staff at the Peabody Plaza office marked the occasion with a group photo in purple.

RIGHT: In October, staff from our Hannibal Office participated in a community resource fair for low-income residents of Marion & Ralls Counties.

BELOW LEFT: Staff from our St. Louis office participated in the "All Hands on Deck" community resource fair in October.

BELOW RIGHT: Huge thanks to the Weigl Jackson Law Firm, who hosted a fundraiser for Legal Services at their Annual Oktoberfest event.

In November, Dan Glazier, Executive Director of Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, and Peter Hoffman, Neighborhood Advocacy Managing Attorney, accepted the 2025 Reimagining St. Louis Brokerage Award from St. Louis REALTORS for the work Legal Services' Neighborhood Advocacy program is doing to eliminate vacancy by turning once abandoned houses into homes again.

ABOVE LEFT: In November, Legal Services' Marlene Elliott (2nd left) and Jim Guest (far right) joined staff from Enterprise Mobility and BCLP for a pro bono planning event and CLE.

ABOVE RIGHT: Legal Services Director of Advocacy Joel Ferber co-presented with Emmie DiCicco of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington D.C. at the Empower Missouri Conference in November. They presented on SNAP and Medicaid provisions in the Budget Reconciliation Law (One Big Beautiful Bill Act) and discussed the implications for our clients.

OTHER NEWS

Breakfast Forum: Medicaid at 60

On Thursday, November 13, 2025, guests gathered at the Missouri Athletic Club downtown for a panel discussion of the legal and policy challenges to Medicaid on the 60th anniversary of its founding in 1965.

Many thanks to all who joined us, and especially to our panelists: Dr. Dwayne Proctor, Missouri Foundation for Health; Joel Ferber, Legal Services of Eastern Missouri; and Jane Perkins, National Health Law Program (NHeLP), who joined via zoom. Thank you also to Sarah Fentem, Health Reporter with St. Louis Public Radio, who served as moderator.

CLICK HERE to view the full album of photos from the event on our facebook page.

This event would not have been possible without the support of our sponsors:

Media Sponsor - Missouri Lawyers Weekly
Supporting Sponsors: Husch Blackwell; Lewis Rice, LLC; Newman Bronson & Wallis; and Thompson Coburn, LLP
Contributing Sponsor: Spencer Fane LLP

Above L to R: Dan Glazier, Legal Services; Joel Ferber, Panelist, Legal Services; Sarah Fentem, Moderator, St. Louis Public Radio; Dr. Dwayne Proctor, Panelist, Missouri Foundation for Health.