Latest news with #DepartmentofHumanServices
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Summer EBT will help feed estimated 165,000 West Virginia children this year
SNAP and EBT Accepted here sign. SNAP and Food Stamps provide nutrition benefits to supplement the budgets of disadvantaged families. (Getty Images) While some Republican-led states have opted out of the federal initiative, West Virginia has launched the 2025 Summer EBT program to help low-income families pay for food during the summer months when children are home from school. This year, 11 states decided not to offer the federal program, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service. All 11 non-participating states — Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee and Wyoming — are led by Republican governors. A 12th Republican-led state, Oklahoma, will offer the program only to tribal nations. 'Recognizing the importance of ensuring children have access to nutritious meals year-round, [West Virginia] opted to participate in this federally funded initiative to combat food insecurity among its youth,' Angel Hightower, a communications specialist for the state Department of Human Services, said in a statement. The federal program provides families with $120 in grocery benefits per each eligible school-age child during the summer. The Department of Human Services estimates the program will benefit 165,000 children in the state this year. Most existing participants received their first benefits by June 1, Hightower said. The state will continue processing new applicants through Aug. 20. Those with school-age children who already receive benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medicaid or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) are automatically enrolled in the program. Families are also eligible if their child attends a school that participates in the National School Lunch Program and the household makes up to 185% of the federal poverty level. For 2025, a family of four can make up to about $59,000 and be eligible for the program. Families can apply online at or download an application at Applications are also available at any Department of Human Services county office.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Gov. Morrisey introduces new foster care transparency and reform initiatives
bluefield – More transparency about child neglect and death cases in what's been called a broken foster care system were among the remedial steps that West Virginia's governor announced Wednesday. Standing behind a lectern bearing the sign Transparency In Foster Care, Gov. Patrick Morrisey spoke in Charleston about changes coming to the state's child welfare system. Hearing from residents who have dealt with the system helped to create the reforms. 'Last week, I had a chance to attend a listening session held by the Department of Human Services in Martinsburg about the child welfare system in West Virginia,' Morrisey said. 'In the overall listening tour we had eight meetings across the state which was organized by our terrific Human Services Secretary Alex Mayer, who unfortunately can't be here today because he's doing great things for the state.' The state Department of Human Services has been working to identify ways to improve the child welfare system, according to the governor. 'We launched this listening tour because we know the most valuable input we can have is from folks on the ground. Parents, guardians, grandparents, judges, lawyers, social workers and more gathered at these eight stops around the state to provide feedback based upon their lived and shared experiences,' Morrisey said. People attending these public sessions described a system with many problems. 'When I attended the session in Martinsburg, I heard some of the attendees talk about a broken system, that they were disjointed, siloed, frustrated, a lot of words that we don't want to stand for any program in the state let alone something that affects so many of our kids,' Morrisey said. 'Frankly, it's tough to sit and listen to all those negative experiences about what many of the folks went through. I know that I shared some of that when I worked down the hall as the attorney general. We didn't have some of the tools that we needed to ultimately bring the kind of change to the system that's required. That's changing now.' Hearing about many child welfare issues that could have been avoided with better communications was difficult, he said. Eliminating bureaucratic red tape and giving Child Protective Service workers the right tools would have helped, too. 'I think you know all of these issues have been going on for a very, very long time and. unfortunately, it's the kids who suffer and we can't tolerate that,' Morrisey said. 'West Virginia cannot, I repeat, West Virginia cannot keep kicking the can down the road as was done in the past. That's not the model of this administration. In my administration, we're making urgently needed changes to take the first steps to address issues within the child welfare system.' Morrisey said when he first took office, he received a letter from a local news outlet about one of their Freedom of Information Act requests that 'essentially had been stonewalled and ignored by the previous administration.' 'The information had to do with the fatalities and near-fatalities of children in West Virginia's child welfare system,' the governor said. 'There was no excuse, I repeat, there was no excuse to keep this information shielded from the public. No excuse. We're going to be different. We're going to be up front with the people of West Virginia and we're going to be as transparent as the law possibly allows. So today, we're releasing the response to that FOIA and all that the law allows.' The child welfare reforms announced Wednesday included: • Fully complying with the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) and federal guidelines requiring public disclosure of key information in child abuse or neglect cases resulting in fatalities or near fatalities. • Overhauling the Child Welfare Dashboard to make it simpler to use and easier to interpret the data. • Requiring supervisors to conduct monthly reviews with their child welfare cases and work with our state office team to identify opportunities for improvement and launching a department-wide 'Leadership Education and Development' (LEAD) initiative to better prepare our supervisors. • Creating a Critical Incident Review Team to conduct a deeper dive into every critical incident. • Introducing a Comprehensive Practice Model to provide a foundational framework that can be standardized across the state. • Allowing caseworkers to gather more comprehensive information on cases rather than relying solely on the referral. 'For far too long, we've asked families and frontline professionals to navigate a system that has not kept pace with the complexities our families and children face today. That must change,' Secretary Mayer said later. 'We are listening—intentionally—and using that feedback to shape a more responsive, accountable and transparent system built on trust. ' Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@
San Francisco Chronicle
7 days ago
- Health
- San Francisco Chronicle
West Virginia governor implements policy changes in embattled foster care system
CHARLESTON, (AP) — West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey vowed Wednesday that his administration will improve transparency and policies within the state's embattled foster care system. Morrisey, a Republican, announced the changes after eight listening sessions statewide to identify areas of improvement and a review of critical cases. Morrisey said he heard attendees at one such session in Martinsburg discuss 'a broken system.' 'It was difficult to hear many of the issues could have been avoided had the state communicated differently, had the state eliminated some red tape or had the right tools to better equip' Child Protective Services workers, Morrisey said at a news conference at the state Capitol. 'You all know that these issues have been going on for a very, very long time. And unfortunately it's the kids that suffer. And we can't tolerate that. 'West Virginia cannot keep kicking the can down the road as was done in the past. That's not the model of this administration.' Largely overwhelmed by the opioid epidemic in a state with the most overdose deaths per capita, West Virginia has the highest rate of children in foster care — currently more than 6,000 in a state of about 1.8 million. Morrisey, who took office in January after serving three terms as the state's attorney general, put some of the blame on the administration of his predecessor, two-term Republican Gov. Jim Justice, for often withholding foster care information from the public, including stonewalling Freedom of Information Act requests. After an internal review of six fatalities or near fatalities between 2021 and 2024, Morrisey said the Department of Human Services will implement a new policy mandating that certain information, including the results of investigations, be disclosed in serious child welfare cases. 'You're not going to have to chase people down the hall' in obtaining case information, Morrisey said. Among the changes, Morrisey said child welfare supervisors will now be required to conduct monthly reviews of their cases, and a new intake process will be implemented for the foster care system, allowing caseworkers to contact individuals involved rather than simply relying on a case referral. He also said improvements have been made to a child welfare dashboard to allow for easier access to data. "What I can promise you today is we want to be honest, we want to be transparent and we will be accountable for what happens,' Morrisey said. West Virginia has been dogged by serious child welfare issues for decades. In 2014, a private boarding school for troubled youths closed in Salem after abuse allegations surfaced. Lawsuits against the former Miracle Meadows school's co-founder and its operating entities that alleged widespread sexual, physical and mental abuse were settled for tens of millions of dollars. The discovery of the emaciated body of a 14-year-old girl in her home in 2023 prompted a state investigation into whether law enforcement and child protective services could have intervened to prevent her death. The girl's mother and two grandparents were indicted on murder charges last September. In March a couple received the maximum sentences of decades in prison for abusing their adopted children, which included heavy labor, locking them in bedrooms, forcing some to sleep on concrete floors and making them stand for hours with their hands on their heads. And a judge in February ordered that a monitor be put in place to oversee state child protective services placements in hotels and camps on Friday after a 12-year-old boy in state care attempted suicide in a hotel room. The action came the same day that a federal judge dismissed a yearslong sweeping class action lawsuit against West Virginia's welfare system on behalf of foster children.
7 days ago
- Health
West Virginia governor implements policy changes in embattled foster care system
CHARLESTON, -- West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey vowed Wednesday that his administration will improve transparency and policies within the state's embattled foster care system. Morrisey, a Republican, announced the changes after eight listening sessions statewide to identify areas of improvement and a review of critical cases. Morrisey said he heard attendees at one such session in Martinsburg discuss 'a broken system.' 'It was difficult to hear many of the issues could have been avoided had the state communicated differently, had the state eliminated some red tape or had the right tools to better equip' Child Protective Services workers, Morrisey said at a news conference at the state Capitol. 'You all know that these issues have been going on for a very, very long time. And unfortunately it's the kids that suffer. And we can't tolerate that. 'West Virginia cannot keep kicking the can down the road as was done in the past. That's not the model of this administration.' Largely overwhelmed by the opioid epidemic in a state with the most overdose deaths per capita, West Virginia has the highest rate of children in foster care — currently more than 6,000 in a state of about 1.8 million. Morrisey, who took office in January after serving three terms as the state's attorney general, put some of the blame on the administration of his predecessor, two-term Republican Gov. Jim Justice, for often withholding foster care information from the public, including stonewalling Freedom of Information Act requests. After an internal review of six fatalities or near fatalities between 2021 and 2024, Morrisey said the Department of Human Services will implement a new policy mandating that certain information, including the results of investigations, be disclosed in serious child welfare cases. 'You're not going to have to chase people down the hall' in obtaining case information, Morrisey said. Among the changes, Morrisey said child welfare supervisors will now be required to conduct monthly reviews of their cases, and a new intake process will be implemented for the foster care system, allowing caseworkers to contact individuals involved rather than simply relying on a case referral. He also said improvements have been made to a child welfare dashboard to allow for easier access to data. "What I can promise you today is we want to be honest, we want to be transparent and we will be accountable for what happens,' Morrisey said. West Virginia has been dogged by serious child welfare issues for decades. In 2014, a private boarding school for troubled youths closed in Salem after abuse allegations surfaced. Lawsuits against the former Miracle Meadows school's co-founder and its operating entities that alleged widespread sexual, physical and mental abuse were settled for tens of millions of dollars. The discovery of the emaciated body of a 14-year-old girl in her home in 2023 prompted a state investigation into whether law enforcement and child protective services could have intervened to prevent her death. The girl's mother and two grandparents were indicted on murder charges last September. In March a couple received the maximum sentences of decades in prison for abusing their adopted children, which included heavy labor, locking them in bedrooms, forcing some to sleep on concrete floors and making them stand for hours with their hands on their heads. And a judge in February ordered that a monitor be put in place to oversee state child protective services placements in hotels and camps on Friday after a 12-year-old boy in state care attempted suicide in a hotel room. The action came the same day that a federal judge dismissed a yearslong sweeping class action lawsuit against West Virginia's welfare system on behalf of foster children.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
West Virginia governor implements policy changes in embattled foster care system
CHARLESTON, (AP) — West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey vowed Wednesday that his administration will improve transparency and policies within the state's embattled foster care system. Morrisey, a Republican, announced the changes after eight listening sessions statewide to identify areas of improvement and a review of critical cases. Morrisey said he heard attendees at one such session in Martinsburg discuss 'a broken system.' 'It was difficult to hear many of the issues could have been avoided had the state communicated differently, had the state eliminated some red tape or had the right tools to better equip' Child Protective Services workers, Morrisey said at a news conference at the state Capitol. 'You all know that these issues have been going on for a very, very long time. And unfortunately it's the kids that suffer. And we can't tolerate that. 'West Virginia cannot keep kicking the can down the road as was done in the past. That's not the model of this administration.' Largely overwhelmed by the opioid epidemic in a state with the most overdose deaths per capita, West Virginia has the highest rate of children in foster care — currently more than 6,000 in a state of about 1.8 million. Morrisey, who took office in January after serving three terms as the state's attorney general, put some of the blame on the administration of his predecessor, two-term Republican Gov. Jim Justice, for often withholding foster care information from the public, including stonewalling Freedom of Information Act requests. After an internal review of six fatalities or near fatalities between 2021 and 2024, Morrisey said the Department of Human Services will implement a new policy mandating that certain information, including the results of investigations, be disclosed in serious child welfare cases. 'You're not going to have to chase people down the hall' in obtaining case information, Morrisey said. Among the changes, Morrisey said child welfare supervisors will now be required to conduct monthly reviews of their cases, and a new intake process will be implemented for the foster care system, allowing caseworkers to contact individuals involved rather than simply relying on a case referral. He also said improvements have been made to a child welfare dashboard to allow for easier access to data. "What I can promise you today is we want to be honest, we want to be transparent and we will be accountable for what happens,' Morrisey said. West Virginia has been dogged by serious child welfare issues for decades. In 2014, a private boarding school for troubled youths closed in Salem after abuse allegations surfaced. Lawsuits against the former Miracle Meadows school's co-founder and its operating entities that alleged widespread sexual, physical and mental abuse were settled for tens of millions of dollars. The discovery of the emaciated body of a 14-year-old girl in her home in 2023 prompted a state investigation into whether law enforcement and child protective services could have intervened to prevent her death. The girl's mother and two grandparents were indicted on murder charges last September. In March a couple received the maximum sentences of decades in prison for abusing their adopted children, which included heavy labor, locking them in bedrooms, forcing some to sleep on concrete floors and making them stand for hours with their hands on their heads. And a judge in February ordered that a monitor be put in place to oversee state child protective services placements in hotels and camps on Friday after a 12-year-old boy in state care attempted suicide in a hotel room. The action came the same day that a federal judge dismissed a yearslong sweeping class action lawsuit against West Virginia's welfare system on behalf of foster children.
