The West Virginia Department of Human Services (DoHS), Bureau for Social Services (BSS) today announced the lowest number of children in State custody in more than seven years, in addition to continued improvements to its Child Protective Services (CPS) and Youth Services (YS) workforce in the first half of 2024.
Governor Jim Justice discussed the announcement of the ongoing commitment to reducing the number of children in foster care and strengthening the CPS workforce during his briefing today.
DoHS has experienced a steady decline in the number of children in State custody. As of June 30, 2024, there are 5,991 children in State custody with more than half placed in kinship care, marking the first time since March 2017 that figure has dropped below the 6,000 mark. A year ago, there were 6,286 children in State custody as of June 30, 2023, down from a peak of 7,433 in April 2020.
“These positive trends reflect our ongoing commitment to family-centered practices by improving outcomes for children,” said Cynthia Persily, Ph.D., Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Human Services. “Through the efforts of our dedicated child welfare staff, who have been instrumental in placing more children in kinship care and reducing the overall number of children in State custody, we are moving closer to our goal of providing stable, supportive environments for all West Virginia children.”
Recent data show out of 524 allocated CPS positions, 101 were vacant as of June 2024 resulting in a 19% vacancy rate, in comparison to a 31% vacancy rate in January 2023; out of 126 allocated YS positions, 14 were vacant resulting in an 11% vacancy rate. Additionally, all CPS Worker positions are currently filled in 20 West Virginia counties; all YS Worker positions are filled in 45 counties.
“Our focused efforts to recruit and retain qualified staff are showing significant progress,” said Jeff Pack, DoHS Bureau for Social Services Commissioner. “Reducing our vacancy rates means we can better serve the children and families of West Virginia and ensure they receive the protection and support they need.”
In 2024, BSS successfully implemented the new classification and compensation system, building on the hiring successes achieved in 2023. As a result, five new CPS positions were added to the Berkeley and Jefferson counties district and a YS Worker Senior classification has been established to provide a career ladder with five positions from YS Worker to YS Worker Senior reallocated under this motive.
DoHS’s BSS increased its workforce to better respond to an increasing number of child welfare abuse and/or neglect referrals. The Centralized Intake for Abuse and Neglect received 39,100 intakes with 24,085 accepted for referral in 2023. As of June 30, 2024, Centralized Intake received 20,179 intakes with 12,363 accepted for referral.