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…
Fact Sheets
West Virginia lawmakers passed the Hope Scholarship, at the time one of the broadest school voucher programs in the nation, in 2021. Voucher programs like the Hope Scholarship, referred to as Education Savings Accounts, divert taxpayer funding from the public education system to unaccountable, sometimes unaccredited, private schools and education service providers. With no public…
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Introduction SNAP Stretch, a program that matches SNAP benefits spent at participating markets to increase fruit and vegetable affordability and access, increases consumption of healthy foods among low-income households, boosts sales at local farmers markets, and benefits our broader economy. A $1 million state investment in SNAP Stretch could have a $2.84 million economic benefit…
Overview Read the full fact sheet. The West Virginia State Senate recently released an outline of a plan to eliminate business personal property taxes and use state revenues to reimburse counties, schools, and municipalities for the hundreds of millions of dollars in property tax revenue that would be lost if Amendment Two or the “Property…
The enhanced child tax credit can benefit nearly every kid in West Virginia The enhanced child tax credit (CTC) is part of the federal government’s relief package (American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA) to help families during the pandemic. In 2021, this plan increases the amount of money that families with children can get refunded…
Overview Read the full fact sheet here. Under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), states, cities, counties, U.S. territories, and tribal nations will receive a total of $350 billion in Fiscal Recovery Funds to respond to the COVID-19 emergency and help bring back jobs. In West Virginia, the state government will receive $1.355 billion and…
This piece was co-authored by WVCBP executive director, Kelly Allen, and WVCBP senior policy analyst, Sean O'Leary. State-funded vouchers use existing state funds intended for public schools and instead redirect them for use in non-public, private education programs. Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) are a form of these state-funded vouchers. The primary difference between ESAs and…
Proposals to force people who do not report a set number of hours worked per month would cause thousands of West Virginians to lose their Medicaid health coverage. The vast majority would become uninsured. This would lead to poorer health outcomes, more financial insecurity for low-income people, and reduced revenues for hospitals while raising health…
Comprehensive prenatal care is key to a healthy pregnancy and delivery. Unfortunately, while the Affordable Care Act allowed West Virginia to expand Medicaid to more pregnant women in the state, many expecting mothers still lack comprehensive health care coverage during pregnancy. West Virginia can ensure more moms and babies are healthy—while saving money for families…