Making ends meet is a struggle for many West Virginians employed in lower-wage jobs. In fact, 23% of workers in West Virginia are employed in low-wage jobs and a quarter of those live in poverty. People working in their communities as daycare workers, restaurant servers, home health aides, administrative assistants, and many other lower-income jobs deserve to be able to…
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More than five months after the declaration of a national emergency due to COVID-19, legitimate concern is growing that the burden placed on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients to comply with the excessive paperwork needed to maintain their food assistance benefits could be heightening food insecurity in West Virginia. Last spring, West Virginia applied…
At this week's Lunch and Learn, Tara Holmes, our Summer Research Associate, presented the potential benefits to West Virginia if marijuana were to be legalized for medicinal and recreational use in the state. Her research shows that legalizing marijuana for recreational use would bring in between $26 and $45 million a year in tax revenue…
Job loss accelerates in September - West Virginia’s disappointing trend of losing jobs continued in September as the state shed 3,200 jobs, marking the eighth straight month of job loss. So far in 2012, only January has seen a monthly increase in jobs. Total nonfarm employment stood at 747,500 in September, 12,800 jobs below its pre-recession…
Bill to Drug Test TANF Recipients Passes First Committee The 2015 Legislative Session is now more than halfway over and there are several measures we are keeping an eye on that would impact West Virginia's working families. Yesterday the House held a public hearing on legislation that would require drug testing of Temporary Assistant to…
Beginning July 1, 2024, many displaced workers in West Virginia became subject to more onerous bureaucratic red tape as a condition of retaining their earned unemployment benefits. As part of the much-discussed and hastily drafted SB 841, which dramatically overhauled the state’s unemployment insurance system in the waning days of the 2024 legislative session, lawmakers…
West Virginia University is currently facing a $45 million budget shortfall for the upcoming fiscal year, expected to balloon to $75 million annually by 2028. During this year’s State of the University address, WVU President Gordon Gee pointed to several factors driving the shortfall including declining college-aged population, lower college-going rates, and rising financial costs. But one major factor was glaringly…
Beckley Register-Herald - Several speakers at a public hearing in the House of Delegates Chamber Friday morning said drug testing welfare recipients is a bad idea because of basic privacy rights issues and the likely low number of positive tests. ReadACLU legal director Jamie Lynn Crofts said drug testing of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families…
Amid a public health emergency, the 2021 state legislative session presented a unique opportunity to improve health and wellness outcomes across West Virginia. This year, delegates and senators introduced several bills related to health care and the social safety net that will impact families across the state, especially those with lower incomes. While some bills…
In July 2023, West Virginia reimplemented pre-pandemic time limits for some adults receiving food assistance via the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The time limits apply to adults between 18 and 52 (up to 54 in September 2024) without a documented disability and without children under 18 in the household, often referred to as “able-bodied…