ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – A multi-million-dollar settlement with St. Louis County does not end the child safety fight for a south county family.

“We’re still not giving up,” Olga said.

Following their 6-year-old son’s drowning at St. Louis County’s Kennedy Rec Center in July 2022, TJ Mister’s mother Olga, and father, Travone have relentlessly pushed for stricter child safety laws. FOX 2 has been right there as they’ve pleaded to county counselors and Missouri legislators in Jefferson City.

“We counted the 20 stories, I think you guys did an amazing job – you know we greatly appreciate everything you did,” Olga said.

FOX 2 has covered stories ranging from exposing the number of children at a summer camp with only one lifeguard to the lack of proper safety equipment – and confronting the county executive about it. St. Louis County then improved training and hired a reputable pool management company to oversee safety at all government pools, and on Thursday, it reached an $8 million settlement with the Mister family. The county will also name a playground after TJ, close to the tragic site, which Olga decided she should visit.

“I haven’t been back there since I dropped him off that horrific day, and so I went there, and it was really – it was a lot – I just lost it, Chris, I lost it,” Olga said.

Yet their grief has not slowed their push to make changes statewide.

“We’ve got to make this happen because it’s not going to change anything unless it’s actually regulated,” Olga said.

The Misters have repeatedly turned their grief into action – raising awareness about how summer camps are exempt from the safety requirements demanded of daycares. They stated that they intend to change the wild west of child care.