Date: March 31, 2026 To: Representative Jones, Chairman, and Members of the House Children and Families Committee From: Gwen Smith-Moore, Criminal Justice Policy Manager, Empower Missouri RE: Support for HB 1872 As the largest and oldest anti-poverty non-profit in our state, Empower Missouri is committed to improving the quality of life for all Missouri residents...Lee mas

Date:   March 10, 2026 To:     Chairman Mayhew and Members, Corrections and Public Institutions Committee From:   Gwen Smith-Moore, Criminal Justice Policy Manager, Empower Missouri RE:      Oppose SB 888 As the largest and oldest anti-poverty non-profit in our state, Empower Missouri is committed to improving the quality of life for all...Lee mas

February 2, 2026 To: Chairman Don Mayhew and Members of the Corrections and Public Institutions Committee From: Gwen Smith-Moore, Empower Missouri  RE: Support for HB 2592 & HB 2834 and Restoring Voting Rights  Empower Missouri has been committed for over 120 years to improving the quality of life for all Missouri residents through advocacy and...Lee mas

Date: January 28, 2026 To: Chairwoman Parker and Members, House Judiciary Committee From: Gwen Smith-Moore, Criminal Justice Policy Manager, Empower Missouri RE: Opposition to HB 2256 As the largest and oldest anti-poverty advocacy organization in our state, Empower Missouri is committed to improving the quality of life for all Missouri residents through advocacy. Since our...Lee mas

Date: January 28, 2026 To: Chairwoman Parker and Members, House Judiciary Committee From: Gwen Smith-Moore, Criminal Justice Policy Manager, Empower Missouri RE: Opposition to HB 2637 As the largest and oldest anti-poverty advocacy organization in our state, Empower Missouri is committed to improving the quality of life for all Missouri residents through advocacy. Since our...Lee mas

Facts and rhetoric are frequently misaligned when it comes to anti-poverty policy. This is especially true in the criminal justice arena, where public perceptions of crime have always been more important to policymakers than what the evidence shows. This translates to policies that are fear-based, rather than evidence-based: longer prison sentences for more offenses, more...Lee mas

Date: January 20, 2026 To: Representative Jones, Chairwoman, and Members of the House Children and Families Committee From: Gwen Smith-Moore, Criminal Justice Policy Manager, Empower Missouri RE: Opposition to HB 2498 As the largest and oldest anti-poverty non-profit in our state, Empower Missouri is committed to improving the quality of life for all Missouri residents...Lee mas

Date: January 12, 2026 To: Representative Mayhew, Chairman, and Members of the House Corrections and Public Institutions Committee From: Gwen Smith-Moore, Criminal Justice Policy Manager, Empower Missouri Re: Support for HB 2302 As the largest and oldest anti-poverty non-profit in our state, Empower Missouri is committed to improving the quality of life for all Missouri...Lee mas

When we talk about mass incarceration, the first image that comes to mind for many is a prison cell door, slamming shut. But while Missouri state prisons incarcerate over 23,000 people, the primary form of incarceration that people face is the one closest to home: detention in local and county jails. There are approximately 9,800...Lee mas

In Part 1 of our two-part Weekly Perspective series on youth justice, we talked about the different paths a kid may take through the system. We also discussed the science of why kids are different than adults and should be treated as such by our laws. This fact was underscored in 2012, when the Supreme...Lee mas