Bureau for Children and Families (now the Bureau for Family Assistance and the Bureau for Social Services)
Formerly the Bureau for Children and Families and now the Bureau for Family Assistance and the Bureau for Social Services, these two bureaus are responsible for the operation of a number of programs that affect families and children, including day care centers, adult care providers, early childhood services and the fostering and adoption of West Virginia children. (These websites are currently being developed).
When the relationship between a child's parents ends, it does not
mean that either parent's responsibility for that child ends. Both parents
remain financially, legally, and emotionally obligated to a child. The Bureau for Child Support Enforcement (BCSE)
helps the person caring for a child collect child support from the child's
other parent(s). The BCSE also helps divorced individuals collect spousal
support.
The mission of the Bureau for Public Health is to help shape the environments within which West Virginians in
their communities can be safe and healthy. The Bureau embraces the values of community, science and evidence-based
decision making, health equity, prevention and wellness, and the protection and
improvement of the health of all West Virginians.
The Bureau for Medical Services (BMS) is the designated single state agency
responsible for the administration of the State's Medicaid program. BMS
provides access to appropriate health care for Medicaid-eligible individuals.
The mission of the Bureau for Behavioral Health is to ensure that positive meaningful opportunities are available
for people with mental illness, substance
abuse, intellectual and
developmental disabilities and those at risk. We provide support for
individuals, families, and communities in assisting persons to achieve their
potential and to gain greater control over the direction of their future.