Republican lawmakers in West Virginia arrived in Charleston to begin the legislative session with 16 bills they said could help fix the state’s troubled foster care system, according to a review of the proposals by child welfare researchers. Mountain State Spotlight asked five researchers to examine the plans.
The researchers said the lawmakers’ approach does not address what they described as the roots of the crisis, and they said it is unlikely to prevent children from being removed from their families or to meaningfully address staffing shortages. Bethany R. Lee, a professor of children’s services at the University of Maryland’s School of Social Work, said, “I think these are somewhat incremental.”
Lee’s critique tied the problem to broader community gaps. She said child welfare bills should be paired with bills to make housing and health care affordable and to expand addiction treatment, and she said, “Oftentimes, the child welfare system is more of a reflection of where the gaps are in the larger society.”
Kelley Fong, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of California, Irvine, said families in poverty are more likely to have children removed because poverty is often misperceived as neglect. She said, “I think anti-poverty policy is child protection policy,” and she argued lawmakers should identify near-term investments that keep families intact.
Fong said lawmakers could be implementing prevention policies now, including a workgroup draft that would require the Department of Human Services to establish a prevention plan over the next year. She also focused on what she said would need to change to keep children from entering foster care, asking, “What are the investments that can be made in the near term, so that families can get the help they need without having their children removed into foster care?”
The lawmakers’ proposals, discussed in the researchers’ review, largely emphasized changes aimed at the system after children become involved. The plans did not include hiring more workers, the story said, and the Child Welfare League of America has argued that case workloads should be limited to 15 children per caseworker. The report also said many West Virginia case workers described average caseloads in the 30s, with some reporting up to 50 cases at a time.
Sen. Vince Deeds, R-Greenbrier, and the other co-lead of the workgroup backed prevention efforts that involve community connections. Deeds supported efforts to connect churches and civic organizations with schools and the Department of Human Services, suggesting schools could reach out to volunteers to help families experiencing challenges such as job loss or addressing student truancy. He said, “There’s a very strong desire with our faith-based communities and our civic organizations now to get engaged early on with our young people,” and added, “Let’s do what West Virginians do best.”
Del. Adam Burkhammer, R-Lewis, also co-leads the workgroup. In the report, Burkhammer said he wanted decisions to be safety-focused and based on data rather than hunches or complaints, adding, “I’m a data guy.” He said that in 2024, half of the cases in West Virginia ended in reunification and argued that the state should shift resources and services toward the front end, so families can stay together with proper oversight.
Other recommendations described in the review centered on improving day-to-day operations for workers and court processes. The proposals include requiring CPS workers to wear body cameras; equipping CPS workers in two counties with mobile devices to send real-time information to supervisors; securing pay raises and assistants for guardians ad litem, who represent children in court; and enlisting State Police to train workers.
Researchers also pointed to placement issues and the limits of available care in West Virginia. The report said out-of-state placements and reliance on institutions have been persistent problems, and it cited Cindy Largent-Hill, director at the Division of Children’s Services at the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, who said the state’s in-state beds have declined—there are only a few beds for short-term, high-level psychiatric treatment and no long-term treatment beds in in-state residential care facilities.
The report said one bill would establish a fund, if lawmakers put money into it, for in-state residential care designed to bring children home from out-of-state institutions and train the workforce to treat psychiatric problems requiring inpatient care. It said Gov. Patrick Morrisey has championed the proposal, while another researcher said location is only one part of the equation.
Lonnie Berger, associate vice chancellor for research in the social sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the key factor is whether children placed in residential facilities are near supportive adults and family members. He asked, “Do they get to visit them?” and said, “That distance could be just as big within the state.”
Lee said states can help prevent children from reaching residential psychiatric care by increasing mental health support in communities and schools, adding, “It’s not like a kid wakes up one day and suddenly needs this level of care.” The report also described additional prevention-oriented ideas, including monthly meetings and trainings for community representatives such as health officials, schools, law enforcement and nonprofits, which Burkhammer said could help communities develop their own solutions to problems including out-of-state placements.
Fong said “mandated supporting” could reduce reliance on CPS caseworkers, describing an approach that would empower teachers to be “mandated supporters” and call parents while working with them to find help for poverty-related needs such as housing, food or clothing. Jessica Pac, an assistant professor of social work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said trained workers who can make decisions that keep children safe are crucial and that higher pay would improve retention.
Pac also returned to prevention and long time horizons. She said, “We should be thinking about what happens in 20 years,” adding that policy makers often do not see benefits from spending decisions for decades. She said, “And I think that it’s not very interesting to policy makers, because it means you don’t see the benefit of those dollars spent for 20 or 30 years,” and concluded, “But ultimately, that’s what in my mind, a well-spent, well-funded and very intentional child welfare system would look like.”
This story was originally published by Mountain State Spotlight and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.