Political leaders praise Centene's choice of Ferguson

FERGUSON, Mo. -- Political leaders are lauding Centene Corp. for its decision to expand in Ferguson, Missouri, and hope the development leads to a "domino effect" to benefit the community hard hit by unrest in the wake of the shooting death of Michael Brown.

Centene announced this past week that it chose Ferguson for an expansion that will create 200 new jobs. The company is still working to secure a three-acre location. Missouri state Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, a Democrat, is helping Centene search for employees, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

"They could go anywhere," Chappelle-Nadal said of Centene. "They chose here. What this does for the community -- especially other businesses -- it allows them to feel there's infrastructure coming. It's a domino effect."

Centene, a managed care company based in St. Louis and part of the Fortune 500, would use the Ferguson center to process claims from its Missouri-based Home State Health, along with overflow from its contracts in other states.

The unemployment rate in Ferguson, a predominantly black St. Louis County town of 21,000, is more than 13 percent between 2010 and 2012, according to a report by Brookings Institute economic scholar Elizabeth Kneebone. More than one in four Ferguson residents had incomes below the poverty level in 2012.

Sometimes-violent protests broke out after Brown, who was 18, was shot and killed by a Ferguson police officer Aug. 9. The officer, Darren Wilson, is on paid administrative leave pending investigations by a state grand jury and the Justice Department.

Chappelle-Nadal recently spoke with a group of protesters about the jobs being offered by Centene. Jermell Hasson, 27, an out-of-work construction worker, asked qualifications. It was a question that Beverly Jones, 51, also had. Jones has been out of work for more than a year.

Centene hopes to have the center open in 2015.