The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) hosted the Child Welfare Transformation Summit on Sunday, December 10, 2023, at the Charleston Marriott Town Center. This joint working summit of the West Virginia Legislature and DHHR aimed to create a shared vision for child welfare in the state with a commitment to improving the lives of children and families.
The Child Welfare Transformation Summit brought together state leaders to strategically analyze policy and fiscal levers that can support large scale system transformation in child welfare. Participants heard from national experts in child welfare policy and systems, including representatives from Casey Family Programs, as well as local leaders from Mission WV and Chestnut Mountain Ranch who work within the current system. A working lunch “think tank” allowed participants to break out into small groups to suggest, create, and analyze potential policy solutions to child welfare issues, such as primary prevention, decision-making and differential response, and ongoing care and permanency.
“This Summit reflects our shared commitment to improving the lives of children and families and providing a strategic platform to drive positive change in our state’s child welfare system,” said Cynthia Persily, Ph.D., Incoming Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Human Services.
Proceedings will be shared after the Summit. The Child Welfare Transformation Summit will re-occur annually in the summer in future years.
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