Morrisey administration wants West Virginia to phase out CPS

Governor Patrick Morrisey (right) and state HHS Secretary Alex Mayer (left) announced a plan on Tuesday to push for West Virginia phasing out CPS removals.

CHARLESTON Governor Patrick Morrisey and the state’s Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Mayer say they want West Virginia’s childcare system to move away from its reliance on Child Protective Services.

Mayer said on Tuesday that the administration plans to focus on prevention, with the goal of reducing and eventually phasing out CPS removals.

“A primary prevention piece is really the further upstream. We talk about some things that we can do ahead of a child coming into care, but if there are things that we can do far in advance of a child ever touching the child welfare system or ever getting a referral, that’s really what we want to focus on, so I think it’s a continuum of prevention,” Mayer said.

The plan centers on strengthening local support systems, including partnerships with faith-based organizations, to help keep children in stable family settings.

“It’s not a ‘one size fits all’ solution, but it’s that incremental step towards making change within the child welfare system in the realm of prevention, but again, I think, really focusing on those primary prevention models that we’ve seen success in in other states,” he said.

There are roughly 6,000 children in West Virginia's foster care system at any given time. That number fluctuates but has remained steadily high for years.

Several Republican lawmakers attended Tuesday's press briefing and voiced support for the proposed direction of the reforms. Some of those same lawmakers, however, have also signaled concerns about how the administration plans to fund the changes. Governor Morrisey’s state budget proposal is expected early next week ahead of West Virginia’s regular legislative session, which gets underway on January 14^th.

Meanwhile, additional child welfare reforms are already moving forward. State officials say money from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program will be used to open 12 new Star Academies. The academies are designed to serve at-risk middle school students through hands-on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education and community partnerships.

PHOTO | YouTube - Governor Patrick Morrisey