The Franklin County Commission approved a proclamation designating October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month and reaffirmed the county’s commitment to victim services, including shelter, counseling, court advocacy and transportation.

A county official read the proclamation (Commission Order 2025-291), which said that to date in 2025 the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office had received 556 domestic violence case reports and that 366 charges had been issued from those cases. The proclamation also stated that, statewide, domestic violence programs served large numbers of people and described capacity strains: “last year, Missouri domestic violence programs provided services to more than 23,584 adults, youth, and children,” and it noted an additional statewide figure about victims unable to receive immediate safe shelter and services.

During discussion a commissioner asked whether the proclamation language implied a shortfall in county services. The commissioner said: “It it it made a statement that in 2024, they were Unable to receive. 6,000 were unable to receive immediate safe shelter and services. I'm sure the sheriff's department was more than willing to provide service. Was that what services was not provided?” A county speaker clarified that the statewide statistic referred to the capacity of the statewide domestic-violence support network (referred to in the proclamation as Alive) rather than an indictment of local law-enforcement response.

A commissioner moved to approve the proclamation and the motion carried. Commissioners said the county works closely with Alive (the local domestic-violence service organization cited in the proclamation) and that the county would present the proclamation publicly.

The proclamation text as read lists services provided to victims and notes that the county and local domestic-violence programs aim to raise awareness about causes, interventions and prevention during October.