Children are dying of fentanyl by the dozens in Missouri. A panel is calling for changes

A Missouri panel found that fentanyl deaths among Missouri babies, toddlers and teens spiked as child welfare officials struggled to adequately investigate the cases. Forty-three youth died — 20 of them under the age of 4 — in 2022 alone from the infamously powerful drug. That reflected an overall doubling of child deaths, with the spike among the youngest victims even steeper. The Missouri Department of Social Services convened the panel of social workers, health officials, law enforcement and child advocates. Among the changes the panel is recommending is better debriefing after something goes wrong so policies and practices can be tweaked.