Gov. Patrick Morrisey vowed to transform West Virginia’s system meant to keep kids safe from abuse and neglect.
In a press release last month, he promoted “sweeping reforms” that included child protective services workers and their supervisors spending more time on cases — even though they don’t have enough time to do the work they’re tasked with now.
But the governor conceded that his plans were a first step.
“This is not a comprehensive solution,” he said. “This is a down payment.”
Workers are stretched thin because the state lacks enough of them to regularly check on kids and ensure that they aren’t hurt in the foster homes and psychiatric institutions where they are placed.
Morrisey said supervisors will conduct monthly reviews of cases and undergo more training. He also called for child protective services workers who take referrals to contact more people who know more about the allegations.
Kathie Giboney, a former CPS worker, said she would have liked to gather more information but didn’t have time to even check on the basic safety of the kids in her care.
When she left the job less than a year ago, she had 30 cases.
That’s already more than the 10 cases West Virginia considers an optimal case load. But the state also defines one case as one family, which can include multiple kids. One worker can be tasked with protecting dozens of children.
Because this number of cases results in burnout and high turnover, the Child Welfare League of America, an advocacy group composed of experts like researchers and workers, argues for measuring cases by child and not exceeding 15 children per caseworker.
Morrisey’s office and the Department of Human Services did not provide any records that would show the administration has or plans to change that policy.
There are currently about 6,100 kids in state custody. They are often there because their parents have died or they have been removed from abusive or neglectful homes.
“Tell us how we can do more,” Giboney said. “Because we don’t have enough workers.”
More workers make kids safer
Marcia Lowry, executive director of A Better Childhood, identified more workers as what should be the first priority of the state’s failing child welfare system. In 2019, her nonprofit advocacy group filed a lawsuit against the state on behalf of West Virginia’s foster kids to try to force changes to the system.
During a Department of Human Services community meeting on child welfare in Parkersburg, Secretary Alex Mayer said he doesn’t think the crisis needs more funding.
But inadequate pay resulting in untenable work hurts kids, according to the Child Welfare League of America.
Regarding pay, Morrisey said the administration will “keep working on that.”
Of an allotted 812 statewide CPS positions, about 65 were vacant as of April.
The Child Welfare League argues that strengthening the workforce ensures that case workers have reasonable workloads and reduces incidents of child abuse.
In February, a federal judge tossed out the case brought by A Better Childhood against the state’s foster care system — not because he found their claims were illegitimate. He said instead that, “When elected officials fail, the ballot box is the remedy.”
The Department of Human Services did not respond to questions about how the governor’s plan can be feasibly implemented.