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In April Governor Morrisey cut funding for several childcare programs from the budget proposed by the WV Legislature. Now the Governor plans to revisit childcare issues, and he promises to bring "transparency and accountability" to the Foster Care Crisis.
It may be too little too late, but these are problems that impact many children in West Virginians, and they will cause lasting harm.
The whole idea that poor children should be taken away from parents in poverty is baffling to me.
The fact is that many families are separated because parents cannot pay their bills or keep their kids looking neat and clean. In WV Foster Care children may have to stay in a motel or go to a holding facility in another state. They may be taken out of school until a foster home can be found for them.
It is bad enough to remove school-age children from their homes, but it is criminal to take babies away from their mothers when bonding is so important for psychological development.
I have learned from workers who served in foster care programs that the situation has become much worst in recent years since the State decided not to maintain the Children's Home in Elkins. Former employees described how children used to be allowed to go home for weekends on a bus, but now the parents are expected to provide miles of transportation they cannot afford.
Going into Foster Care is almost like going to jail without due process. One person who stopped working on foster care programs knew a teenager who attempted suicide in a motel. This former state employee said: "Poverty is not a crime" Then she told me that children were taken from their homes when their parents had not paid their bills. She thought it would be cheaper for the State to pay these bills than to provide a suitable foster care setting for each child.
With a little computer research I learned that Governor Morrisey slashed over $60 million from children's programs in the proposed budget last month.
Delegate John Williams said, "When you have kids living out of trash bags in a hotel that is not a point in time to give tax breaks to the rich."
West Virginia had over 6,000 children in Foster Care in 2024, and there is no viable plan to take better care of them within the WV system. What I have read on this problem says that most children are better off with a blood relative. However, WV relatives may not have financial resources to take care of these children. If working individuals are trying to support children, they need transportation to their job and suitable child care while the caregivers are working.
I certainly hope that the new Governor will bring "transparency and accountability" to the Foster Care Crisis, but the problem goes much deeper.
Today, West Virginia is not a good place for young families. Working families need child care and health care to reduce financial pressures.