Reports & Briefs

November 15, 2022 by Sara Whitaker
 “Closest to the Problem”: A Vision for Reentry from the People Who Live It 

Overview “I don’t know how much time each of you has served, but if you served one day in a correctional facility, you have something to say, and somebody ought to hear it.” Darrin Lester addressed a group of formerly incarcerated people in Logan County, West Virginia this past summer, part of a session called “Be…

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August 24, 2022 by Sara Whitaker
Counsel at First Appearance Can Protect Liberty and Reduce Jail Costs

Introduction Read the full policy brief. To anyone raised on American television, it may come as a surprise that a person could appear at a court hearing without a lawyer. But every day in West Virginia, people who are arrested face their first hearings alone. This has significant consequences. At the first appearance hearing the…

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August 4, 2022 by Sean O'Leary
Amendment Two: A Power Grab that Puts Local Public Services at Risk

Overview This fall, West Virginians will vote on amending the state’s constitution to take property taxing authority away from local communities and give increased power to the state legislature, which is expected to pursue a major tax cut for mostly out-of-state businesses if the amendment passes. Read the full issue brief. Amendment Two, or the…

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May 25, 2022 by Rhonda Rogombe
Simplifying Medicaid Processes Can Increase Efficiency and Improve the User Experience

Introduction Read the full issue brief. Medicaid is a critical economic and health program in West Virginia, serving over 616,000 people, including children, seniors, low-income adults, pregnant and postpartum women, persons with disabilities, and more. In addition to being the main source of health access for over one-third of the state’s population, Medicaid covers the…

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February 23, 2022 by Sean O'Leary
Flat Budgets, Flat Expectations: The West Virginia Fiscal Year 2023 Budget Proposal

Overview Read the full brief. For the second year in a row, Governor Jim Justice has proposed a “flat” budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023, with only minor changes from the FY 2022 budget. While the state is currently enjoying large budget surpluses, those surpluses are the result of billions in federal aid, artificially low…

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February 14, 2022 by Rhonda Rogombe
West Virginia Policymakers Will Soon Lose Power to Use SNAP Flexibilities to Address Economic Downturns if Action is Not Taken

Background In May 2016, West Virginia implemented a pilot program that placed time limits on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility for adults without children in the home (officially referred to as “able-bodied adults without dependents” or “ABAWDs”) across nine counties. Under these time limits, those affected were ineligible for SNAP if they could not…

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January 10, 2022 by WVCBP
Improving Community Supervision to Safely Reduce Incarceration in West Virginia

This issue brief was written for the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy by Brian Elderbroom. Elderbroom is the founder and president of Justice Reform Strategies, a consulting firm providing policy, communications, and management support to organizations committed to improving the criminal justice system. He is a national expert on sentencing and corrections policy…

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August 26, 2021 by Sean O'Leary
State of Working West Virginia 2021: Labor, Race, and Solidarity

This report was co-authored by Sean O'Leary, senior policy analyst, and Myya Helm, summer research associate. Read the full report here. Introduction As West Virginia recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic and recession, its path forward remains unclear. For many years, West Virginia has lagged behind the nation in many positive economic indicators, with low earnings…

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August 18, 2021 by WVCBP
American Rescue Plan Act’s Education Funds Can Address Inequity in West Virginia’s Public Schools

This issue brief was written by the WVCBP's summer research associate, Tamicah Owens. Introduction The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) provides states with assistance and broad economic relief as the nation recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Act also includes $123 billion in new, flexible funding known as the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief…

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