MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — New Department of Human Services Secretary Alex Mayer appears ready to tackle what is generally considered one of the more complex issues in the Mountain State.
The West Virginia Department of Human Services officially wrapped up their statewide Child Welfare Listening Sessions in Morgantown on Thursday, where just over 80 residents gave the new secretary some direction on what things they could look at. Mayer, along with close to a half dozen DHS administrators, heard stories from residents who lived in multiple North Central West Virginia counties as well as two neighboring states, where they believe they found several areas that could be addressed both in the short and long term for the state child welfare system.
“I think for me and for others, I know it was impactful just to kind of hear the stories that people are willing to express,” said Mayer after the session on Thursday. “Because those are going to be those experiences that help inform those solutions, so it’s critical that they’re here.”
During the two-hour meeting, residents from Monongalia, Preston, Marion, and Harrison counties, along with parents from Ohio and Pennsylvania, attended, where they gave their varying experiences of struggles dealing with the child welfare system. This included varying stories of staffing shortages for state child welfare agencies, an overwhelmed judicial system, and inconsistencies in welfare checkups and responses that have led to children being taken to out-of-state foster homes. While the stories themselves were considered moving by Mayer, he also considered them an ideal glimpse so state officials can see what can be done to improve child welfare in West Virginia.
“I would say tonight it was certainly a bit more emotional in comparison to some others,” said Mayer on the feelings expressed by residents during the Morgantown meeting. “Everyone has been really open and honest about their experience and, obviously, they’re disheartening stories, but it’s great to have them here, be able to tell their story, and then offer those solutions that they see will be impactful.”
For Mayer, the stories that were told at the meeting in Morgantown were very much similar to stories told during the seven other meetings hosted across the state. This included stops in Hurricane, Beckley, Wheeling, Parkersburg, and Philippi, all of which had residents speak of issues that also related to efficient staffing and job training that led to what should be normal interactions with child welfare workers turning into something more serious. Added to issues related to what is considered a general negative culture regarding the child welfare system in West Virginia, Mayer feels the listening sessions brought in a lot of information to build off of.
“Commonalities around workforce and communication, transparency, accountability—you know, I think there are things you’ll be hearing in the near future around, specifically, the transparency piece,” said Mayer.
While nothing in great detail was officially announced, Mayer did tell reporters that efforts have already started at the West Virginia Department of Human Services to address some of the reported deficiencies. This includes plans to address staffing shortages and implement new training measures as well as taking long-term steps to address culture-related concerns that were also negatively voiced during the eight meetings. With a formal announcement scheduled in the coming weeks, the new West Virginia Secretary of Human Services hopes to try to address some of the concerns expressed across the Mountain State related to child welfare.
“Again I want to just reiterate appreciation for everyone that came out from these eight different sessions across the state,” said Mayer. “I know it takes a lot of courage for folks to come to these sorts of things for a variety of reasons, it’s time out of their evening, time away from family, kids, other obligations that they have, so I just want to express my appreciation.”