West Virginia Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD), a non-profit organization often activated for flood relief in the state, came under scrutiny for possible misuse of funds during Sunday afternoon’s meeting of the Joint Legislative Committee on Flooding.

Senate Finance Committee chairman Eric Tarr (R-Putnam, 04) called for the Legislature’s Commission on Special Investigations, the criminal investigation arm of the Legislature, as well as the Legislative Auditor and State Auditor’s office to look into several allegations raised against the organization regarding possible financial irregularities.

“I’m not convinced that the funds that went through VOAD, and I’m not sure how much of that would have been state dollars with just the recent appropriations, let alone what’s happened since 2016, were used appropriately,” Tarr said.

Tarr asked VOAD Executive Director Jenny Gannaway several questions under oath regarding actions taken by her and VOAD staff. These actions include the hiring of family members for VOAD by Gannaway and others. Gannaway admitted to hiring her brother, her great niece and great nephew-in-law. Gannaway said the hires did not require approval of VOAD’s board, and that Gannaway and other employees did not directly supervise employed family members.

Gannaway explained that the hires were made during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic when it was hard to find employees willing to work. She noted that she would never make similar hires again but at the time, with so much to do, and being short staffed, she felt that was her only option to get the job done.

Tarr also asked about whether Gannaway took as her own some items that had been donated to VOAD to help with relief efforts.

Gannaway said she made donations in exchange for the materials.

“We had permission to take donations for items we could not give out to flood survivors,” Gannaway said. “I gave large donations for any items I took that I may have given to someone.”

According to Tarr, VOAD received approximately $896,000 through the state Department of Commerce from West Virginia’s nearly $149 million in Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery dollars stemming from the 2016 flooding in southern and central West Virginia.

Tarr also asked about the use of federal Paycheck Protection Program loans for bonuses for Gannaway and others. According to Tarr, VOAD received approximately $400,000 in PPP loans, meant to help retain and pay workers during COVID-19 shutdowns in the spring of 2020.

Gannaway informed the committee that much of the PPP funding was returned to the federal government, but confirmed that PPP helped provide bonuses, including for herself. It is unclear how much was paid out in these bonuses, but according to a letter read by Tarr from Gannaway to a VOAD employee, that staff member received more than $7,000. Gannaway said these bonuses were cleared by VOAD’s CEO and auditor.

The Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability met today.

The Committee received a report from the Center for Nursing. In 2023, 23 percent of the 828 medical students enrolled in their first-year classes at the state’s three medical schools are from West Virginia. The graduation rate for all schools is 45 percent or higher and the licensure passage rate is 95 percent. There has been an increase in retaining medical professionals after training is complete. The location of residency determines practice areas. If a student does their residency in WV, they are more likely to stay in West Virginia.

In pharmacy education, 44 percent of students enrolled in their first-year classes are WV students. In dentistry, 50 percent of the students enrolled in their first-year classes are WV students.

There are several programs to help students with education funding. The Health Sciences Service Program is a state-funded program that provides financial awards for health professions students who agree to practice in underserved areas of the state. The WV Nursing Scholarship Program is a state-funded program that provides nursing scholarships to LPN, RN, and graduate nursing students in exchange for completing service obligations in WV. The Medical Student Loan Program is a need-based program for students at WV medical schools. Choose WV Practice Program provides a tuition waiver for non-resident WV medical students who agree to practice in underserved areas of the state after completing education and training. The Mental Health Loan Repayment Program is awarded to practicing health professionals who agree to complete service obligations in underserved areas.

The committee also heard a report from the State Superintendent and the finances of the school districts.

Division of Natural Resources Elk Project Leader Randy Kelly gave an update on the health of the herd and the progress made since reintroduction began in West Virginia in 2015 during an interim meeting Tuesday afternoon.

Kelly noted the state of Virginia started its elk reintroduction in 2013 and has benefited greatly from Kentucky’s elk program. Due to the proximity and terrain, a large number of Kentucky elk have roamed into roamed into Virginia, much more so they they have into West Virginia.

DNR Director Brett McMillion informed lawmakers they are considering importing elk from other locations, but movement of any cervid species has become a complicated process due to the fear of Chronic Wasting Disease and other afflictions.

Kelly told lawmakers West Virginia’s herd was still trying to recover from the impact of a loss of a large number of animals rounded up in Arizona and sent to West Virginia.

“We were under a 120 day holding rule and had to keep them penned up. No matter how much food we gave them or how gently we handled them, they became extremely stressed,” Kelly said.

Crews captured 60 elk in Arizona for transport but Kelly said 14 were lost in the required quarantine period and another 33 percent were lost to a parasite called brain worm.

“When your body is stressed you’re more susceptible to parasites or disease. After they recovered from that, it’s calmed down and we are starting to recover from that loss,” he said.

Kelly noted that the herd is currently very young and there was discussion regarding what level the herd would need to reach before a limited hunt could be allowed. Kelly was reluctant to put any number on the herd which would trigger conversations for a controlled hunt, but he agreed with lawmakers that at minimum, 200 to 250 elk needs to be achieved in West Virginia before consideration.

“We’re still at a really young age structure, even our bulls are young. They’re not consistent breeders until they are three and they only have one calf a year,” Kelly said. “We don’t want to do it too early because you can hinder reproduction, so we want to be cautious.”

The Joint Committee on Health met this afternoon.

The Committee received an update from the Bureau for Behavioral Health and recommendations on IDD and ICF. The agency has had routine and ongoing meetings with patients and staff at state hospitals, as well as bi-weekly meetings with Disability Rights of WV.

Three barriers/challenges were identified by the Bureau: (1) workforce, (2) discharge planning, and (3) crisis services. Currently, there is no central point of coordination to oversee training, monitoring, and coordination across state health agencies. Staffing positions in professional and direct services are difficult to address, as there is a lack of professionals trained in applied behavioral analysis and positive behavior support. Resources are currently being directed to children with IDD and not adults.

Community providers are less involved in the discharge process now. They frequently refuse to serve people wones they have been committed through the state mental hygiene process. Individuals who do not qualify for waiver are more difficult to discharge to the community without proper funding. DHHR has no power to relocate or reallocate beds, even though about 10 percent of licensed ICF beds are unavailable due to workforce availability. There has been an increase in young adults aging out of care in out-of-state placements and then being committed to state hospitals. Providers already see the current regulatory oversight as overbearing and punitive.
The current crisis response structure makes it difficult to access the level of care that is needed in real-time. The current mobile crisis teams are not trained to manage the special needs of individuals with IDD. Community-based crisis stabilization units are reluctant to serve individuals with IDD. Existing crisis units designed to serve individuals with IDD do not have the capacity to serve in crisis. Currently, one of the two units is temporarily closed due to lack of workforce.

The Bureau had several recommendations relating to the workforce. First, it recommends hiring and training a qualified individual to serve as the director for IDD services to implement the recommendations identified and to develop a strategic plan. An existing position and funding are available for this. Another recommendation is developing a pilot project for community engagement specific to IDD to facility community discharge placement. The Bureau will continue working on the full implementation of ECHO and continue to offer specialized training to first responders. It was recommended that training be increased at all staffing levels and include coaching and mentor training. Funding needs to be re-established for PBS to adults. Another recommendation is to develop a technical assistance center that can be used to help providers stay current on best practices and policy development.

It was recommended to use comprehensive centers to continue to improve participation in discharge planning. Responsibilities relating to discharge planning need to be clarified. Training needs to be provided to hospital staff and community-based providers for discharge planning and trauma-informed care. The Bureau wants to explore housing options for permanent housing support or HUF 811 projects for individuals not eligible for the IDD waiver. The Bureau needs to determine if there is an additional need for group homes to serve individuals with IDD. Another recommendation was to develop a three-year strategic plan for the re-entry of out-of-state youth preparing to age out of foster care and have an IDD diagnosis. A resource manual for providers that includes community-based responses that will complement, and augment clients’ treatment plans was also recommended.

In order to address crisis service needs, it was recommended to establish a three-region crisis response team with specialized training in IDD. Additionally, it was recommended to replicate other states’ promising practices such as establishing three to four four-bed short-term stabilization homes to help avoid hospitalization or shorten the length of state in-state hospitals.

The Bureau also had policy recommendations: a peer review of the civil commitment process, exploring the possibility of modifying Chapter 27 of the WV code to allow community providers to service people with challenging behaviors where state hospitals can still be the backup for crisis services, and assure unused intermediate care facility beds are available to clients.

The Committee also heard updates on the proposed state labs as well as the Center for Local Heath and Tobacco Cessation.

The Committee received an update on the controlled substance monitoring database. Controlled substances dispensed are declining across the state in most drug types, buprenorphine and some stimulants are increasing. All opioid dispensing has declined. The utilization of the CSMP remains high; 15 million queries or more a month.

Finally, the committee discussed the 2024 draft legislation relating to CON mobile exemption, drug test strips, and psychiatrist residency program. All motions were adopted to introduce the legislation in the 2024 session.

The Joint Committee on Economic Development met this afternoon.

An update on Tourism in the State was the first presentation. All 55 counties are seeing growth in tourism. Data is compared to “pre-pandemic” data. National travel growth is 1.2 percent. West Virginia’s travel growth is 7 percent. There has been rapid growth in tourism since the pandemic.

Tourism is using a variety of ads to draw audiences to the state including print ads in magazines, TV ads, and digital ads. The Department is thinking outside of the box for ads and targeting growing audiences. Washington DC, and Pittsburgh are the fastest growing markets for WV tourism. The targeted audience was once just people who lived within a three-hour drive of the state. However, audiences have grown beyond that, first, there was a regional focus, and now the target audience is anyone in the US. The Department has even focused on some international markets, specifically Canada, UK, and Germany. The focus is expanding to Brazil and other markets that have shown interest in traveling to states near WV.

The Department has entered partnerships with companies like Hooper and Vrbo. The partnerships push ads for West Virginia when individuals are looking for vacations in areas near WV. In addition to Tourism’s Brand Advertising Program, the Department also has a Cooperative Advertising Program. It is a public/private partnership fund, that purchases ads in coordination with brand advertising, and partners, such as counties, municipalities, organizations, etc, can buy into it. All ads direct people to the Tourism website. The Department also creates high-quality vacation guides, showcasing all 55 states.

The Department is also focusing on the growing outdoor enthusiast market. It has teamed up with AllTrails, an app for hiking, camping, biking, and other outdoor activities. The Department is also targeting the hunting and fishing markets. Major League Fishing has arrived in the state; the competition will air in February.

It was stated that regardless of the season in West Virginia, the top-performing ad is always a waterfall. With this revelation, Tourism created a Waterfall Trail, where people can check into waterfalls and win prizes. This first started as an in-state initiative to get citizens of the state to visit their waterfalls but has become so much more. People from 49 states and 12 countries have checked in at the waterfalls.

The Department launched a Culinary Trail for people looking for high-quality dining experiences. The initiative launched three weeks ago and 10,000 people have signed up. Individuals can win prizes for checking into one of the 27 featured restaurants across the state.

Tourism in the state is expected to continue to grow. There is currently $43 million in new investments taking place. The Department does have a 100-page document with grants and funding that can be utilized to help with tourism projects in the state. The Tourism Act Tax Credit was also a big help. One thing that could slow tourism growth would be workforce development. There are 21,000 annual job openings, many of which are management-level jobs paying $60,000 and up. The Department does have a $5 million grant to train current tourism industry employees, so they can fill these management jobs and educate the communities to prepare them for visitors. The Tourism Department had partnered with the Department of Education and added tourism courses into the curriculum in middle and high schools. Currently, there are 9,000 students enrolled in tourism courses across the state. Starting next year, students will be able to earn credits towards degrees in high school, like the Nursing Pathways Program. It was stressed to educate citizens on tourism and provide information to them to help promote awareness of tourism activities in their area.

All in all, tourism has a bright future in West Virginia.

The Committee also heard a presentation on the Planned Huntington Tristate Southside Aviation Development.

The Legislative Oversight Commission on the Department of Transportation Accountability met this afternoon.

First, the commission heard an update on the operations and finances of the Multimodal Division. The aviation grant program is being restructured for a more uniform application process. This took place on November 1, 2023 and will govern all aviation awards in the future.

The commission then heard an update on DOT operations and road maintenance. Seven of the 10 districts have completed all core plan maintenance work for the year and by the end of December, the remaining three districts should have work completed as well. The Division of Highways completed 200 slip-and-slide repairs this year. The weather has allowed for later-than-usual paving. The Department has had a net gain in employees, solved a lot of internal cultural issues, and installed good leadership. The Department has $4 billion in active construction projects underway and just under $1 billion in engineering projects. It is believed that sales taxes would help with funding.

Finally, the commission received an update on the DMV’s electronic titling system. The Department is in the second year of a three-year rollout of electronic liens and titles. All car dealers are using the electronic system. The system has 700 lien holders enrolled and it’s moving forward. The DMV was able to pull 7,000 records from the mainframe system to move into the new system. The processing time for titles has been reduced tremendously. Previously, processing would take anywhere from 45 to 65 days and now it is at about five days with most being processed in real time.

The DMV has the pilot program started for the clearing house with three early adopters in it, including Vroom. It was noted that the DMV is first in a lot of national categories. The Department is in partnership with other state agencies. For example, the DMV was working with the Treasury Office on Unclaimed Property.

The Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and Human Resources Accountability met this afternoon for its December Interim meeting.

First, the commission heard from Aetna, which has been working with the state for four years and is on its second contract series. Aetna operates on size pillars: (1) individualized care to meet the needs of children and families, (2) building community capacity with high quality of community-based services, (3) right level, right time, and the right length of time of care received, (4) shifting mindsets, (5) bring together a culture of collaboration, and (6) a meaningful exchange of information. Aetna has a three-tier care management system: intensive, supportive, and population health. Intensive CM is for members receiving care in facilities. Supportive is for members who have monthly check-ins. Population Health is for members who are adopted or in kinship care and doing well so they do not need oversight; they receive a check-in at 90 days.

Access to pediatric psychiatry is critical in community care. There is a $1.5 million innovative collaboration between Community Care of WV and Aetna Better Health of WV. The number of children with serious emotional disorder waivers has tripled each year since the inception of the waiver. A CSEDW Trainer has been added and there are now CSEDW Services in schools. Success stories are being seen in local communities. However, more CSED providers are needed in the state.

Aetna works with key partner focus groups to meet the needs of members. The five focus groups mentioned include Member Advisory Council, Socially Necessary Services Focus Group, Residential Treatment Facility Focus Group, Grand Families Group, and Governance Council.

Aetna is also working with a statewide foster care recruitment campaign.

Next, the commission heard an update on the transition of DHHR, Shared Administration.

First, it was noted that between November 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023, the department identified 133 employees who became eligible for retirement. Of those, 26 left within six months of becoming eligible. This is concerning because, within the next five years, a large percentage of employees will be eligible to retire.

The Office of Shared Administration will include the Office of Finance, the Office of Human Resources Management, the Office of Constituents, the Office of Communications, the Office of Operations, the Office of Information Services, and a Liaison to Boards and Commissions.

The Department will be hosting a round table discussion with directors on December 15, 2023, to go into more detail on how the Office of Share Administration will operate.

Next, the commission heard a review of preliminary findings and recommendations from the Recovery Residence Taskforce. Recommendations include:

• State law to designate an existing agency to convene a group that will investigate and procedure recovery residence crimes;
• Designate an agency to assess fines listed in statute;
• Amend the code to allow for new recovery residences to receive state funding in areas where there are gaps in the continuum of care;
• Mandate the use of an outcome-tracking system for all certified recovery residences;
• Create reentry housing infrastructure;
• Life and safety requirements consistent with applicable state and federal law for uncertified recovery residences; and
• Statewide recovery residence registry

The commission heard a review of costs and rates for Intellectual/Development Disabilities Services. The project overview includes:

• Engaged stakeholders to identify concerns with service delivery and/or reimbursement rates
• Created a project-specific webpage
• Developed a cost report to capture provider wage and service provision costs
• Analyzed data from provider cost reports
• Designed services-specific rate models and developed associated rates

Lastly, the commission moved to introduce the four bills listed in the 2024 regular session. Those bills include the renaming of DHHR, reorganization of the Office of Inspector General, removing extended managed care in foster care, and expanding the powers of LOCHHRA.

The presidents of Mountaineer Gas and West Virginia American Water addressed members of the interim committee Monday morning, regarding a water line break on Nov. 10 that sent thousands of gallons of water through 46 miles of Mountaineer Gas’ distribution system and caused gas service to be disrupted for roughly 1,500 customers on Charleston’s West Side for up to two weeks.

The outage caused damage to multiple customers’ appliances, including stoves and furnaces among others. David Lokant, President of Mountaineer Gas, says his company has worked to replace the appliances for all the customers that were impacted.

Lawmakers were attempting to find out how and why the break occurred. Many of their questions remain unanswered.

Both West Virginia American Water President Robert Burton and Lokant said their monitoring systems showed no signs of problems, with Burton mentioning that the line that broke did not register on their leak monitoring system and that it had been checked just hours before the break that was reported at roughly 1:50 p.m. in Nov. 10.

“Those are the facts that West Virginia American Water knows,” Burton said.

Lokant mentioned that Mountaineer Gas completed a required three-year leak survey that included the West Side in October of 2023. No leaks were found at that time.

Burton told the committee that the break happened in an 8-inch water main along Madison Street on Charleston’s West Side. He noted that the line was installed in 1989, making it a relatively young line according to industry standards. Burton said the main was in good condition with no history of leaks, repairs or customer complaints dating back to the most recent records the company has that date to 2009. Burton indicated that the life expectancy of that type of line is 80 to 100 years.

West Virginia American Water received its first call of a problem at 1:50 p.m. on Nov. 10. It confirmed the leak and had a crew on scene to make repairs by 5:30 p.m. Repairs were made and completed by 4 a.m on Nov. 11 according to Burton and then Mountaineer Gas crews arrived to repair its line. The hole was backfilled and has since been covered with concrete.

Lokant said Mountaineer Gas began receiving calls by the evening of Nov. 10 from its customers about not having gas service. He said the first call came from Papa John’s on Patrick Street. He noted Mountaineer Gas doesn’t have an emergency alert system like some other utilities so their workers began going door to door to see who was impacted.

“We did not know how far the water would have traveled. Then we had to start scouring the areas and that’s where we had to go house to house to see how far–when we pulled a meter was there gas or not,” Lokant said. “We found water everywhere.”

Both Burton and Lokant said their companies will continue to cooperate with a state Public Service Commission general investigation, which is in its early stages. Both utilities have been asked to provide detailed information as part of the probe.

Burton said more than 200 customers have inquired about WVAM’s offering of paying up to $2,000 in damages from the gas outage. He said 26 checks have been written for an average of $1,600.

“These payments are prompt, not reduced by the fees of plaintiffs’ lawyers and reasonable,” Burton said. “The claims are related to a gas outage not to a water outage and we are asking customers for partial release of the claims we are addressing.”

Lokant said 1,500 of the company’s 2,100 customers on the West Side were impacted by water through their gas lines. He said the company is still attempting to make contact with roughly 40 customers who they haven’t been able to catch at home. Lokant also noted Mountaineer Gas is currently contracting with 30 HVAC and plumbing crews to finish appliance repairs and replacements for approximately 125 customers. The company has also given a $75 credit on the latest gas bill of each of its customers in the impacted area.

Delegate Mike Pushkin, (D-Kanawha, 54) who lives on the West Side and had damage from the outage, was glad to hear from both Presidents but believes he still has more questions than answers with regard to how this happened.

“I think we have a long way to go to get to the bottom of this but I think this was an important first step,” Pushkin said. “It’s important to answer questions from elected representatives of the people.”

He added he still has questions as to why it took Mountaineer Gas so long to alert its customers, noting that if customers are late on a payment, they are alerted quickly.

There have been at least two class-action lawsuits filed in connection with the outage.

“We all know there’s a class-action suit. Both of these utilities are going to be in court. I believe they are suing each other,” Puskin said. “A lot more information is going to come out.”

The Joint Committee on Children and Families met this morning.

First, the committee heard about efforts to end childhood hunger in the state. In West Virginia, 1 in 8 people are struggling with hunger. The state is ranked 7th in food insecurity with 14.3 percent of the population being food insecure. It is a critical public health issue. Food banks play a significant role in combating hunger. Mobile pantries are conducted weekly. The 5-6 mobile pantries serve 100 to 600 families per event. Fresh foods, proteins, dairy, and shelf-stable meals are the focus of these pantries. The Mountaineer Food Bank has partnered with Baylor University for the Extra Mile Program which is a pilot program in Mercer County. It is now moving to Clay County. It allows for DoorDash to be utilized for food pantries. Backpack Food Programs provide students with food for weekends and breaks. Foodbanks partnered with the WV Department of Agriculture and the USDA to receive funding to purchase apples from orchids that were struggling with sales and provided apples to food banks across the state.

The committee heard a presentation on the cap in childcare centers in the state and the effects on manufacturers. Childcare is a business issue. Businesses providing childcare or assistance with childcare can improve employee focus, improve retention and recruitment, help with the work-life balance, reduce absenteeism, improve morale and loyalty, and have a more diverse workforce. It is especially important in manufacturing jobs, as many of the jobs are rotating shift work. With limited and expensive childcare options, it can be difficult for parents to maintain careers in manufacturing. In a state with a declining workforce, it requires everyone who can work to work. Several states have partnered with agencies for childcare. Programs looking at availability, location, and cost are needed. Tax credits for building new childcare facilities are great. Some states offer matching grants for the cost of daycares.

Toyota has on-site childcare development centers in Kentucky and Indiana. The size of the centers is important, as it needs to be large enough to meet the needs of the employees. Toyota also has two facilities in construction and two facilities in the process of starting construction. One of the facilities in the process is in West Virginia. It is a NEAR site childcare development center. It will serve 100 children and will be 24-hour center. The target for opening is the end of 2024.

Lastly, the committee heard about a project-based learning academy called Star Academy. The program was created to re-engage at-risk middle school students. It’s a four-pillar modern approach with a focus on a project-based core curriculum, an accelerated model, a multi-modal approach, and an environment. The academy is a school within a school. Each academy is 80 students with 20 students per core class. Students work in small groups to work on soft skills. Students can complete two grade levels in one school year. Modules are hands-on and facilitator-led. Being a school in a school, students can have lunch and participate in extracurriculars with their peers.

The curriculum is customized to state and local standards, careers, and businesses available to students, and district goals. The Academy has a library of 100+ career-aligned modules. Star Academy has a three-pronged partnership with unlimited professional development, educational support specialists, and personalized PR plans.

Star Academy has 20 years of data backed success. In several states, the Academy has increased graduation rates, reading fluency, and retention while decreasing absenteeism and discipline referrals. The cost is $1 million for three years. The funding source would determine who implements the program.