“100… but it should be no more than 10”
This is a summary statement a CPS worker made when asked under testimony how many cases were assigned to them. This testimony was given in a hearing before Judge Sweeney mid-last year. The hearing itself was held because of a failure in action concerning a child welfare case in 2024.
To his credit, Judge Sweeney risked his unblemished record to call attention to the failures within DoHS and ultimately the State Legislature who has oversight of the department. The thanks he received for defending children with no ability to help themselves was a formal admonishment by the JIC.
Why is this important? Because it speaks to a problem that unfortunately has persisted for years in our state with currently no end in sight. I’m speaking of the foster care / endangered children crisis.
West Virginia is #1 in the nation for children entering foster care - a stunning 8 times the national average. We currently have more children entering the system than we have homes for them, so we’re shipping them to other states to house them. We have structural problems in DoHS, staffing issues within CPS and a lack of funding to satisfy the need.
Again, this problem did not happen overnight, it has persisted for years - while our State Legislature has sat on their hands. Why you ask? It’s simple really - because neglected children don’t get to vote, and the parents affected by the system are not your typical voting bloc, nor are they donating to any campaigns - and there is no lobbyist for these children walking the halls of the Capitol patting backs and padding pockets. No attention is given it as the vast majority of people I speak with have no clue as to the magnitude of this crisis we’re in.
If elected as your delegate, I will introduce next session a bill titled ‘The H.O.M.E. Initiative - Helping Our Most Endangered’. This would be a reform act from top to bottom, including DoHS Audits & Evaluations, restructuring if necessary to make sure we have enough boots on the ground to serve these children and not an overabundance of rear ends sitting in padded chairs, overseeing a problem they have no plan or ability to fix. Among other aspects, it will also make sure the department has adequate funding to hire and retain quality CPS employees to thoroughly investigate cases, as well as care for the needs of foster care children as they transition to independence, ensuring they can as adults be productive citizens and break the cycle of neglect they endured.
These children have already been in some capacity failed by their parents… and we’re failing them as a state by neglecting them as well. It’s time to act.
Your vote matters on May 12th. I implore of you to help me help these children.
Scott McGraw
Candidate for District 9 House of Delegates
If you believe this to be a topic that needs addressed, please share this post everywhere you can. God bless.
“Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 18:10, KJV)
