West Virginia Public Broadcasting - In the first episode of this series, the focus was on the story of Lisa Hartline— a legal aid lawyer who found her calling while incarcerated and unable to make bail. Just like Lisa, Deborah Ujevich dated a man who got caught up in drugs. Listen to the full segment.…
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Ted pointed out that West Virginia's employment level is at its lowest point in 14 years. A closer look shows that West Virginia's employment situation has been pretty bad for decades. One measure of how well a state or region provides employment is the employment-to-population ratio or employment rate. This ratio is the number of…
As of January 1, the West Virginia Department of Human Resources (DHHR) has added a so-called work requirement to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Under the policy, adults aged 18 to 50 with no dependent children must participate in a work or educational activity for a monthly average of 20 hours per week in order to…
Crises like the coronavirus outbreak create a double challenge for state governments. Demand for vital public services escalate just as the revenues to support those services take a major downturn. West Virginia is already in a tight budget situation, with resources stretched thin. Before the effects of the crisis were really felt, the state revenues…
Legislation Still Alive Post- Crossover Day Wednesday was Crossover Day, the day that legislation has to have passed one chamber to stay alive. Here's what we are watching: The West Virginia Future Fund bill passed the Senate unanimously last week and is awaiting action by the House of Delegates. Want to know more about what…
For Immediate Release Media Contact: Linda Frame, 304.419.1454 Yesterday the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued federal regulations to protect people from the abusive payday lending industry. The "PaydayFreeLandia" Coalition - a group of civil rights, labor, faith-based and community organizations from the 15 states, including West Virginia, where predatory payday lending is illegal -…
West Virginia Community Engagement Program Manager Caitlin Sussman MSW, LGSW penned this guest blog for the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy as part of its coalition efforts to protect and strengthen food assistance that is being threatened by the U.S. House Farm Bill. As a Social Worker at a free health clinic, I…
For 21 months our state has been embroiled in a preventable jail crisis. During that time, lawmakers never asked for testimony from people living behind bars. They never asked for testimony from the parents, spouses, or children of people living behind bars. Only once did they hear from two people who had been previously incarcerated.…
This fall, West Virginians will vote on a proposed constitutional amendment to give the state legislature the authority to exempt most business personal property and personal vehicles from the property tax, potentially costing local governments hundreds of millions in lost revenue. Property tax levies (including excess and bond levies) provide critical revenue for local services…
The 2018 Legislative Session came to a close last week, and in a break from the past two years, the budget was passed early with little controversy. While every year, the budget undergoes some changes from the governor's proposal to the final product, this year most of the changes to the budget were part of…