West Virginia Department of Human Services Secretary Alex Mayer visited Morgantown on Thursday to join Chad Clutter, director of Chestnut Mountain Village, social workers and members of churches across the county to celebrate the first public launch of CarePortal in the Mountain State.

“It’s a celebration for Mon County. It’s a celebration for all of West Virginia,” Clutter told the group gathered at the Hotel Morgan.

CarePortal describes itself as “a care-sharing technology platform that brings the needs of children and families in crisis to the attention of local churches and community members who want to help. By bridging the gap between child-serving agencies and community responders, CarePortal enables real-time, meaningful support that strengthens families and prevents unnecessary foster care placements.”

After an initial launch in Mon County in November, CarePortal went live Thursday with 14 local churches participating.

Department of Human Services Secretary Alex Mayer describes CarePortal’s potential Thursday in Morgantown.

BreeAnna Cunningham from Mon County Child Protective Services and Jane McCracken, a CarePortal ambassador with Chestnut Mountain Village, demonstrated how the system works to those attending the event. A social worker will learn of a family’s material need — perhaps furniture, clothing, home repairs or assistance with utility bills. The worker enters the need into CarePortal via a website or app. 

Cunningham demonstrated an example in which a mother trying to reunify her family needs a bed for her daughter because hers was destroyed in a fire. After Cunningham entered the information, an alert went out. Almost immediately, the phones of people in the room who are participating in CarePortal started beeping and vibrating notifications.

McKracken then responded on the app, pledging to meet the need, and that response appeared on the screen.

CarePortal is already active in 37 states. The service reports that its platform has met 135,575 requests, served 358,943 children, and generated an estimated $133.9 million in economic impact. Some areas across the nation have seen a 60% decrease in kids entering foster care.

Clutter explained how the Mon County pilot project became a reality. It began in 2023 with him joining four others to contemplate at the foster care problem and about what they could do to support families before they broke down and the state had to get involved. And what if they could support foster families to keep them from quitting their care of children? 

They performed a four-month community assessment to see what resources are out there and what churches wanted to get involved. They believed there were more than enough resources and willing people out there. 

“But nobody was connected, so there was no way for people to know what they needed to do,” Clutter said.

That led to contact with CarePortal, and Chestnut Mountain Village became the implementing partner. The CMA Church of Morgantown and Chestnut Ridge Church were the first two churches to sign on for the pilot program in November.

Locally, along with the two churches, the DoHS Bureau of Social Services and Bureau of Family Services’ Compass Women’s Center on Don Knotts Boulevard and the DoHS Mon County Family Support Center teamed up.

“Those are connections and problems solved by neighbors helping neighbors, not through government,” Clutter said. They can reunify a family or keep one together.

Mayer said DOHS sees the needs and problems of the child welfare system.

 “It becomes increasingly clear that initiatives like this are going to be the solution,” and CarePortal is an innovative platform that connects families to help they need, he said. “By responding swiftly to needs posted in CarePortal, community members can prevent crises from escalating, ensuring that children remain safe in their nurturing environment,” he said. And along with meeting material needs, the portal community can offer emotional and social support – relationships that provide mentorship and guidance.

“Other states that have done this have seen phenomenal outcomes,” Mayer said.

Mon County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Kristin Antolini said, “I really see this as a game-changer for our children and our families here in Monongalia County.”

She came into the attorney’s office from a background as guardian ad litem, where she represented hundreds of children, she said.

For those kids, their social workers are also often acting as their parents, and the kids have needs beyond what the state can provide.

With this, a social worker will be able to put those needs into the portal and have the need met. “When you fulfill an economic request, you are letting someone know that they are valued, they are cared for, that they are important.”

CMA Pastor Roy Baker said he had foster brothers growing up, and he knows fostering is tough at times.

“To know that you have a support system behind you is tremendously motivating to people who might step up and be heroes in our state, to take up the role of fostering,” he said.

The next step for CarePortal, Clutter is, is the launch of the Preston County pilot program on May 13.