Economic Security

October 19, 2023 by Kelly Allen
Substance Abuse Fuels Foster Care Surge. Think Tank Searches for Solutions.

West Virginia MetroNews - West Virginia’s drug overdose mortality rate is the highest in the nation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that nearly 1,500 West Virginians will have died from a drug overdose from May 2022 to May of this year. Read the full article. In addition, thousands more West Virginians have drug problems. A survey…

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October 16, 2023 by Kelly Allen
Refundable Credits Would Help WestVirginia Families, Report Says

Tax Notes - The creation of a child tax credit or earned income tax credit in West Virginia could help relieve the state’s overburdened foster care system, according to a nonprofit research organization. Read the full article. In a report published October 12, the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy examined the state’s struggling…

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October 12, 2023 by WVCBP
New Report Examines Root Causes of West Virginia’s Child Welfare Crisis, Provides Recommendations to Address

For Immediate Release: October 12, 2023 Contact: Kelly Allen, (304)-612-4180 Charleston, WV – West Virginia's child welfare system is in crisis. Currently, the Mountain State places four times as many children per capita in the foster care system as the United States as a whole. West Virginia permanently terminates parental rights faster and more often than any…

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October 12, 2023 by Kelly Allen
Moving Upstream: Improving Child Welfare in West Virginia Requires Addressing Root Causes of Hardship

Please note, this report was co-authored by WVCBP executive director, Kelly Allen, and WVCBP child welfare summer research fellow, Veronica Witikko. Overview Read the full report here. West Virginia’s future depends on our ability as a state to nurture the health and well-being of the next generation of West Virginians—our children. Essential to that goal is…

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September 20, 2023 by Sean O'Leary
A Deeper Look at West Virginia’s 2022 Poverty Data

According to the Census Bureau's official poverty estimates, West Virginia saw its child poverty rate increase from 20.7 percent to 25.0 percent between 2021 and 2022, the only state to see an increase by the official measure (along with Puerto Rico). In 2022, West Virginia's child poverty rate was the second highest among the 50…

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September 14, 2023 by WVCBP
West Virginians Faced Increased Hardship in 2022 Due to Failure by Congress to Protect Proven Anti-Poverty Pandemic-Era Policies

For Immediate Release: September 14, 2023 Contact: Kelly Allen, 304-612-4180 Charleston, WV – Nationally, the overall poverty rate and child poverty rate rose by the largest amount on record in more than 50 years, according to new US Census data released this week. The data also reveal that too many West Virginians—17.3 percent, or 308,825 residents, lived in…

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June 27, 2023 by Seth DiStefano
New SNAP Restrictions Will Worsen Hunger for Older West Virginians

West Virginia News, Exponent-Telegram, Spirit of Jefferson - SNAP restrictions included in this month’s federal debt limit deal will impact the Mountain State more severely than any other state on a per capita basis due to West Virginia’s aging population. Read the full op-ed. Nationwide, nearly 750,000 older adults aged 50-54 will be at risk…

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June 21, 2023 by Seth DiStefano
New SNAP Restrictions Will Worsen Hunger for Older West Virginians

SNAP restrictions included in this month's federal debt limit deal will impact the Mountain State more severely than any other state on a per capita basis due to West Virginia's aging population. Nationwide, nearly 750,000 older adults aged 50-54 will be at risk of losing their food assistance due to these new provisions, including 7,000…

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