For Immediate Release: September 21, 2020 Contact: Kelly Allen, 304-612-4180 Charleston, WV- For several months, members of the Health Care for All WV coalition have urged our U.S. Senators and House Representatives to prioritize a robust COVID relief package that would address the immense suffering West Virginia families, businesses, and local governments are facing. Congress has failed…
Education & Human Services
West Virginia MetroNews - More than a dozen West Virginia groups have signed on to a letter pushing for additional federal COVID relief for families and communities. Read full article. “Across West Virginia, food and housing insecurity are growing, local governments are facing budget crises that threaten public services, and unemployed workers are struggling to make ends meet as the economic and health crisis…
Charleston Gazette-Mail - West Virginians help one another. Without thinking twice, we take meals to parents who’ve had a new baby, form ad hoc neighborhood child care arrangements when schools close because of the coronavirus pandemic and pick up groceries for our at-risk elderly neighbors. Link to op-ed here. Our people know that working together…
WOWK - On this week’s Inside West Virginia Politics, we discuss how the state prepared to reopen West Virginia schools, procedures schools will follow, and how schools will feed school children attending school remotely. Listen to the full segment here. In segment 4, Seth DiStefano, policy outreach director for West Virginia Center on Budget and…
Beckley Register-Herald - Across our state, West Virginians are continuing to bear the brunt of the COVID-19 public health and economic crisis. Food insecurity is spiking, families are facing eviction from their homes because they can’t afford rent, parents are struggling to balance child care and work, and officials are scrambling to figure out how…
With faltering revenue collections, Governor Justice has ordered a $100 million budget cut for the current budget year, with more cuts likely for the FY 2021 budget. And, as with past budget cuts, higher education appears to be a prime target. This is all happening on the heels of a new report from the Center…
Charleston Gazette-Mail - In public schools in the majority of states, fourth-graders’ math scores held steady or improved on average on the National Assessment of Educational Progress from 2017 to this year. Read article. Not in West Virginia. It was among only three states to see statistically significant drops in their average scores in this…
When people leave the criminal justice system, a combination of family support, community assistance, and economic opportunity is needed to help them stay out. Having access to employment opportunities is key, providing not just financial resources, but also connections to society that help those with criminal records reintegrate successfully. Read report. Unfortunately, people with a…
Over the last decade or so, local governments entities in West Virginia have used a myriad of business property tax incentives to reward or induce local economic development projects. These can include tax increment financing or TIFs, lease agreements, tax credits (e.g. local B&O), issuing bonds to purchase property, and the use of Payment in…
Beckley Register-Herald - West Virginians often show our love through sharing food. Whether it’s a big pot of beans and cornbread on the stove when we show up to a relative’s house or a friend sharing her “world famous” pepperoni roll recipe, we show love by filling up bellies. Read op-ed. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance…