CHARLESTON — The West Virginia Department of Human Services (DoHS) has filed a request for summary judgment in the child welfare case Jonathan R., et al. v. Jim Justice, et al., urging the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia to rule without a trial.
DoHS has provided 3.2 million pages of documents and allowed examination of dozens of its employees over the past five years. The motion, filed on July 9, 2024, asserts that the undisputed facts reveal no scenario in which the plaintiffs could prevail without a trial, saving taxpayer money.
The motion highlights numerous efforts by DoHS to enhance child welfare services. These include increasing Child Protective Services (CPS) caseworkers, improving case planning, expanding community-based mental health services, recruiting foster families, and training CPS workers.
- Spending on community-based mental health services for foster children has nearly tripled over the past decade.
- The percentage of foster children in residential treatment decreased from 28% to 17% over the last decade.
- The vacancy rate for CPS and Youth Services (YS) positions dropped significantly over two years.
- The turnover rate among CPS and YS workers fell from 34.1% to 22.3% in the same period.
- According to recent federal data:
- West Virginia has the third lowest rate of child maltreatment in foster care in the nation.
- West Virginia ranks highest in placement stability among states.
- West Virginia leads in the rate of kinship care placements.
“While there is still room for improvement, DoHS has devoted substantial resources to making those improvements, with the support of the West Virginia Legislature and the courts, and will continue to do so,” said Cynthia Persily, Ph.D., Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Human Services. “In West Virginia, as in every state child welfare program, there are always individual cases in which DoHS could improve. However, the statistics are clear that, on a system-wide basis, West Virginia has much to be proud of.”
The successes depend on the efforts of foster families, CPS caseworkers, and mental health professionals. Earlier this year, DoHS, in collaboration with Aetna Better Health of West Virginia, Mission West Virginia, and ten foster care agencies, launched a statewide campaign to recruit foster parents. Since the launch in March, nearly 400 families have shown interest.
Those interested in becoming a foster parent can learn more at wefosterwv.org.