HURRICANE, W.Va. –A few dozen people turned out for the first West Virginia Department of Human Services Child Welfare Listening Session at the Valley Park Conference Center in Hurricane Monday evening.
The listening sessions aim to bring out foster families, case workers, and a range of others on the front line of the childcare crisis in the Mountain State to give the department insight and information.
Monday’s listening session was the first of eight session the DoHS will be hosting throughout the month of May.
Child Welfare Listening Tour Schedule:
- May 13- Beckley, Beckley Armory; 200 Armory Dr., Beckley, WV, 25801
- May 14- Wheeling, Wheeling Armory; 25 Armory Dr., Wheeling, WV, 26003
- May 15- Parkersburg, Wood County Resiliency Center; 338 2nd St., Parkersburg, WV, 26101
- May 19- Burlington, BUMFS Gymnasium; 120 Hope Ln., Burlington, WV, 26710
- May 20- Philippi, Battler’s Knob; 101 College Hill Rd., Philippi, WV, 26416
- May 21- Martinsburg, Martinsburg Armory; 800 Foxcroft Ave, Ste 420, Martinsburg, WV, 25405
- May 22- Morgantown, WVU County Extension Center; 270 Mylan Park Ln., Morgantown, WV, 26501
Recent data shows that around 6,000 children are currently in state custody. Back in February, Judge Timothy Sweeney ordered state officials to serve as CPS workers due to severe understaffing in child protective services, including new DoHS Secretary Alex Mayer.
One foster parent in Cabell County spoke with MetroNews Monday evening. She says she wants to the be part of meaningful change.
“I just want to see a change and to help be a part of that change,” she said. “To see all that we can do and not wait until the end result of children in care for years and the resources not being there.”
According to the foster parent, the three-year old girl she is caring for has been in the foster system for over 60% of her young life. She says she understands unfortunate circumstances may prevent her from knowing the child’s complete story, but there wasn’t proper communication from the state throughout the process.
“From the beginning we felt like we didn’t get all of the information that we should’ve got,” the foster parent said. “You’re asked to have a child in your home, and you know absolutely nothing about them, and I know that’s what you sign up for, but we felt like a lot of the information that we did get wasn’t even the full truth. I don’t know if that was intentional, but I just think there needs to be better communication across the board.”
The woman, who declined to give her name, says that besides her and her support group, there’s no one else fighting for this young child.
“We feel like, sometimes, we are the only one that are on her side and in her corner, and that’s really hard when she’s been in care for that long and you feel like you’re the only one for her,” the foster parent said.