Protecting Missouri kids from drug abuse

Kansas City Today

Missouri child welfare advocates and lawmakers are alarmed over the sparse use of a drug rehabilitation program that could help keep kids safe. Plus: How women surgeons at the University of Kansas School of Medicine in Wichita are trying to change the status quo.

A recent report showed that child abuse investigators missed warning signs that parents were taking fentanyl before their children died of accidental overdoses. As St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum explains, the report is prompting sharp questions about why Missouri’s Children’s Division isn’t using a process to steer parents into drug rehabilitation programs.

Women now comprise more than half of medical school graduates, but they’re still underrepresented among surgeons. A club at the University of Kansas School of Medicine in Wichita brings together women surgery residents and attending physicians for support and mentorship. Rose Conlon of the Kansas News Service dropped in on a recent meeting.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Byron Love and KCUR Studios, and edited by Madeline Fox and Lisa Rodriguez.

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