CHARLESTON — A federal audit of West Virginia’s child welfare system during former Gov. Jim Justice’s final year in office found that 91% of 100 reviewed reports did not follow requirements for child neglect and abuse cases.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector released a report Friday – issued on Sept. 26, 2025 – looking at the Child Protective Services program within West Virginia’s Department of Human Services.

The report focused on the state’s compliance with child abuse and neglect requirements under the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act. The audit found that the state’s Bureau for Social Services failed to comply with intake, screening, assessment and investigation procedures in an estimated 91% of 100 screened-in family reports.

Specific deficiencies included failing to send notification letters, to complete initial assessments and interviews in a timely manner, and to ensure safety plans and risk assessments were performed correctly.

The Office of Inspector General reviewed screened-in family reports of child abuse and neglect data available through the state’s People’s Access to Help computer system for a period between Oct. 1, 2023, and Sept. 30, 2024, during the tenure of Justice and former Human Services Secretary Cynthia Persily.

Out of 23,759 screened-in reports, the office selected a random sample of 100 reports to determine whether BSS complied with requirements.

“BSS complied with requirements for the intake, screening, assessment, and investigation of reports of child abuse and neglect for nine of the 100 screened-in family reports in our sample but did not comply with all State requirements for the remaining 91 reports,” according to the report.

“On the basis of our sample results, we estimated that 21,621 of the 23,759 (91%) screened-in family reports for our audit period were not in compliance with one or more requirements related to the intake, screening, assessment, and investigation of child abuse and neglect,” the report continued.

Of the 100 audited cases: 74 reports did not include a required written notification letter; initial assessments were not completed within 30 days of receiving a referral in 61 reports; 41 reports included no required interviews with children or adults during the initial assessment; mandated reporters did not receive notification of whether a child abuse and neglect referral had been accepted for assessment or screened out in 41 reports; nine reports included no required safety plan; and eight reports did not include required impending safety threat risk assessments.

“…BSS officials stated these procedures were not always followed because child welfare workers, who were carrying higher caseload due to staffing shortages, prioritized conducting child interviews over administrative functions such as sending out notification letters to parents or caregivers,” the report’s authors stated. “BSS stated that it is difficult to retain staff and fill vacant positions, which contributed to the higher caseloads.”