WOWK - West Virginia has the highest rate of foster children in the nation, and advocates are again calling for more help. Some have called the foster care system a crisis, and it’s certain to be one of the top three issues when the legislature convenes in January. Read the full article. For every 1,000…
Economic Security
WOWK - There are critical shortages at food banks and pantries across the state, but now some major help is on the way. Read the full article. Gov. Jim Justice (R-WV) is sending in more money, fulfilling a pledge he made in this year’s State of the State Address. Food pantries, such as the one…
West Virginia places four times as many children per capita into the foster care system as the United States as a whole. Most foster care entries in West Virginia are related to substance use or neglect—not abuse. Poverty and lack of access to substance use treatment are major drivers of foster care entry.[i] To solve…
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…
West Virginia MetroNews - A new report conducted by the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy shows West Virginia places the most children in foster care compared to any state in the country, with four times as many kids in the system per capita as the United States as a whole. Read the full article. Kelly…
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…
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…
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…
WOWK - Charity organizations like Manna Meal are asking for help from the public because a long-term government shutdown would mean thousands of people across the state could not use their federal benefits to find their next meal, like SNAP benefits and WIC benefits. Read the full article. Amidst talk of the federal shutdown,…
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…