SPONSOR: Schmidt
COMMITTEE ACTION: Voted "Do Pass with HCS" by the Standing Committee on Children and Families by a vote of 14 to 0.
The following is a summary of the House Committee Substitute for HB 3470.
This bill establishes the “Charity Act”. The bill requires the Department of Social Services to coordinate with various state agencies and a partner network to assist participants in achieving personal goals, self-sufficiency, community integration, and a prosperous future.
The bill creates the "Charity" program within the Department of Social Services. Participation in the Program is limited to legal residents who are 18 years of age or older, except as otherwise specified in the bill. State departments and agencies are required to participate in the Program at the direction of the Governor. In order to use government resources more effectively and efficiently, participating State departments and agencies must use existing resources and personnel, to the extent possible, to operate the Charity program.
This bill establishes the "Task Force on the Protection of Children and Families". The Task Force is composed of three members from the House of Representatives, three members from the Senate, and three members appointed by the Governor. The Task Force's purpose is to implement the provisions of the Charity program, safeguard children by providing rigorous oversight of prevention efforts, and ensure accountability, transparency, and continuous improvement across all systems responsible for protecting children from abuse. Other responsibilities of the Task Force are outlined in the bill.
This bill is similar to SB 1062 (2026).
The following is a summary of the public testimony from the committee hearing. The testimony was based on the introduced version of the bill.
PROPONENTS: Supporters say that this bill's goal is to not only give a man a fish, but to teach that man to fish as well. Agencies know how to connect to other state agencies but not how to connect outside of that network. This legislation is modeled after a Texas partnership network but tailored for Missouri. There will be a payoff of more Missourians working, less Missourians on public assistance, and stronger communities. Supporters further state that this bill will remove barriers to self-sufficiency. This will use existing resources and personnel. There are already 36 counties that are on the Care portal and this bill will create a true partnership and a true network.
Testifying in person for the bill were Representative Schmidt; and Arnie Dienoff.
OPPONENTS: There was no opposition voiced to the committee.
Written testimony has been submitted for this bill. The full written testimony and witnesses testifying online can be found under Testimony on the bill page on the House website.
Statutes affected: