For more information, please contact:
Marie McGeehan
Director of Communications
Boys & Girls Town of Missouri
Phone: 314-535-7911
Fax: 314-535-6632
marie.mcgeehan@great-circle.org

Boys & Girls Town of Missouri President Vince Hillyer
Praises Governor Blunt Proposal for Increase in Residential Care Funding

Springfield, Mo.  (January 11, 2007) – Boys & Girls Town of Missouri President Vince Hillyer praised Gov. Matt Blunt’s announcement this afternoon calling for an increase in funding for Missouri children suffering from abuse and neglect who are being treated in residential care facilities.

“Thanks to Governor Blunt’s personal commitment to vulnerable children in state custody who live in residential care centers, since he became governor the gap between the actual daily cost of caring for and treating these children and the state funding that pays for their care has almost been cut in half,” said Hillyer.
Actual cost of care for children in residential treatment is approximately $150 per day.  Funding for care is about $115.  Governor Blunts proposed increasing funding $5 per day.

“Children will stay in residential treatment programs until they are well and ready to lead productive lives.  Abuse is not going away.  These dollars ensure that residential agencies will be here for children who need our help,” said Hillyer.

Hillyer made these comments today at the Ozarks Family Resource Center emergency children’s shelter on the Springfield campus of Boys & Girls Town of Missouri, where Governor Blunt held a news conference at which he stated his plan to include a $5 per day increase in payment to residential treatment agencies in his Fiscal Year 2008 budget.

The Boys & Girls Town of Missouri campus in Springfield provides treatment for 70 children in residential care and 16 children in emergency care daily. Boys & Girls Town of Missouri provides residential treatment for more than 280 children daily at all four campuses throughout the state.

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About Boys & Girls Town of  Missouri
Founded in 1949, Boys & Girls Town of Missouri is a nationally accredited organization that provides extensive treatment through residential, foster care case management, outreach and family therapy programs for troubled youth with a history of abuse, neglect, severe behavior disorders and psychological problems. The organization's mission to "improve the lives of children with emotional and behavioral problems through superior, family-focused services" is fulfilled through campuses in St. James, St. Louis, Springfield and Columbia, MO.  BGTM helps redirect the lives of more than 4,000 boys and girls and their families annually.  For more information, please visit the website at www.bgtm.org