For Immediate Release: September 17, 2024 Contact: Jeff Biddle Jr., Executive Director, Midian Leadership Project, midianleadership@gmail.com, (304)-382-8288 Charleston, WV – West Virginia’s criminal legal system for children is at a crossroads. Juvenile reforms implemented in the 2010s led to decreases in the number of criminal cases filed against youth. But as West Virginia emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic, the trend…
Education
This report was co-released by the WVCBP and the Midian Leadership Project. Introduction In the spring of 2023, we at the Midian Leadership Project teamed up with the American Friends Service Committee to host listening sessions with young adults who had spent part of their childhood in the criminal legal system. Read the full report.…
Charleston Gazette-Mail - School is officially back in session for children across the Mountain State — with the vast majority (90%) receiving their education in our public school system. The new school year brings excitement and opportunities, but this year in West Virginia it also brings challenges as school districts face serving their students with…
Beckley Register-Herald, Fayette Tribune - Gov. Jim Justice, as he does, was acting like he did us all a big favor on Thursday when he announced that the state would increase funding for state programs that help pay for in-home care of those who have a difficult time caring for themselves, primarily lonely and homebound…
West Virginia News - The West Virginia NAACP has filed a lawsuit against three state departments, accusing them of failing to collect crucial data intended to improve the juvenile justice system. The lawsuit, filed in Kanawha County Circuit Court, targets the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Human Services, and the Department…
West Virginia Watch - The state NAACP has filed a lawsuit against three West Virginia departments, alleging they failed to collect data meant to improve the juvenile justice system. Read the full article. The organization filed the lawsuit Thursday in Kanawha County Circuit Court. The complaint lists as defendants the state Department of Homeland Security,…
WBOY - The Hope Scholarship offers $4,921 for families who would like their children to be educated outside of the public school system. Currently, it’s only available to students entering kindergarten, but in 2026, it will be opened to all students in West Virginia. Read the full article. State Treasurer Riley Moore says that as many as…
WCHS - Jessica Keyes is the mom of a 7-year-old boy who attends school in Mason County but said he will not be returning this school year. Read the full article. "The decision came this year, honestly, because my son's one-on-one aid kept changing," Keyes said. She told Eyewitness News she is in the process…
West Virginia Public Broadcasting - Since its implementation in 2021, the Hope Scholarship has been a flashpoint for discussions of school choice and funding for education. Read the full article. As part of her capstone project Jules Ogden, a recent graduate of West Virginia University, looked into the program’s impact on the families that use…
West Virginia Public Broadcasting - The Hope Scholarship program has been at the center of statewide debates about public school funding and educational freedom. Critics of the program are concerned about its diversion of funding from public schools, while proponents see the program as an opportunity to individualize education for their children’s needs. Read the…