The Joint Health Committee met this afternoon to hear several presentations including a review of the mental hygiene process and the State Health Plans.

The main issue in the mental hygiene process is that the probable cause stage takes too long. Most of the issues with finding probable cause come from outside the court including the delays in locating of individual, the evaluation, finding counsel, and locating a bed for the individual. Something that could help the courts would be the availability of mental hygiene commissioners (MHC).

A model concept was presented. The model would have seven mental hygiene regions grouped by CMHCs and Sharpe and Batemen counties. Each region would have one full-time commissioner per approx. 375 fillings. MHCs would be employed by and have oversight from the Supreme Court. Commissioners would work regular office hours and would rotate “on-call” duties to provide 24/7 services.

All hearings for mental competency would be conducted by video with possible connections at law enforcement offices, hospitals, jails, and CMHC. Regional MHC would handle all involuntary commitments.

This model would replace the current part-time system. A benefit to this model would allow full-time MHCs to focus exclusively on providing mental hygiene services and the flexibility for unplanned hearings. The current system has MHCs who maintain full-time legal practices so their ability to provide services is subject to their other responsibilities. Full-time commissioners would be able to devote time to be trained on mental health issues. With the Supreme Court providing oversight, the process would be consistent throughout the state. If the commissioners were given statewide jurisdictions, cross-county coverage could take place.

The cost for this model would be $2,161,000, which would be funded through the court’s budget. Currently, the court spends about $ 1,000,000 in fees. The increase would be about $1.2 million, however, if travel and equipment are included the total net cost would be $1.6 million.

It is recommended that a pilot program take place in one region before moving to a statewide launch.

Currently, West Virginia is ranked 47th in the country for health outcomes. The southern counties have worse outcomes than the northern counties. Health outcomes are driven by access to health care, the quality of care, tobacco use, drug and alcohol use, education, employment, income, family and social support, community safety, air and water quality, and housing and transportation access.

The economy and health outcomes are interdependent. Healthy workers are more productive and innovative. Having productive and innovative workers brings in business interest. Investing in health can “turbocharge” economic development.

It’s important to understand that no single entity can improve health outcomes alone. Health is multidisciplinary, meaning several agencies and organizations will have to work together to improve it.

Structural changes are in the works to improve outcomes. The State Health Assessment will be completed by December. State Health Improvement Plans will be developed to define policies to improve priorities. Through these plans, stakeholders will define a shared understanding of health values and measures of success. The development of a data system will allow the accurate tracking of outcomes. Funding can be scaled based on the successfulness of measures.

The Joint Committee on the Judiciary met this morning for a discussion on child welfare in the state.

It was noted that there have been issues of understaffing and under-trained new hires. Many issues have arisen from this including delayed response times, delayed referrals and no court reports files with the court. These issues lead to a reactive involvement instead of a proactive one.

A major issue in juvenile delinquency cases is the lack of in-state treatment facilities for more severe cases. All in-state providers are considered before moving to out-of-state providers. However, in-state treatment facilities are not equipped or capable of accepting the more violent children. This leads to children being sent to out-of-state facilities for treatment. Currently, the children in these cases are placed in department custody and have to sit with CPS workers at DHHR offices or stay in hotels with workers while waiting for out-of-state facilities as no facility is available in West Virginia. According to the Bureau, providers have expressed interest in coming to WV to provide specialized services for more severe cases.

As noted, the state has a significant issue with workforce recruitment and retention. In 2022, the vacancy rate was 30 percent. Initiatives have been put in place to improve upon these issues. If a CPS worker was employed before June 2022, they received a 15 percent pay increase and will receive increases at two and five years of service. If hired after June 2022, then a pay increase will happen every couple of years of employment with 10 percent happening in the second and fourth years of employment and five percent in the sixth and eighth years.

The starting salary for a CPS worker is between $33,000 and $50,000, depending on location and experience. Youth Service workers are also at the same pay scale. The way caseload is allocated changed from allocating on just average caseload to average caseload and population. New workers are needed across the state. This has been applied to youth service workers as well.

The timeline for new CPS workers is as follows:

• Registered for new training and completed onboarding at offices: 1-3 weeks
• Attends new worker pre-service training: 11-13 weeks
• Assigned graduate caseload of 2 or 3 cases, which increase each week until equal to peers: approx. 8 weeks

Before hiring, a prospective employee submits an application to DOP (this will change on January 1 as the Bureau will move to a new pay system which will allow the agency to hire on its own), DOP places applicants into a registry and then the hiring district requests the registry. Interviews take place and qualified applicants are given a hiring packet and start date.

After being hired, a new CPS worker will begin training rounds and complete onboarding at offices. Then, the new hire will complete pre-service training (240 hours) which can be online or in person. This training is a combination of classroom and field training, which includes interviewing and the casework process. After this training, the new hire must pass a competency test. Then, the new CPS worker will receive a graduated caseload of two or three cases which will increase each week until they reach a full caseload.

The Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability met on Sunday, October 15, 2023 to hear about a few policies, a report on the Research Challenge Fund, and an update on public charter schools.

The Committee approved four rule changes: WVCCTCE 135-06, 135-20, 135-32, and 135-49.

The annual report for the Research Challenge Fund was presented. The Research Challenge Fund is a grant of $1.3 million distributed over five years with three winners each five years. The grant supports STEM research projects, which may lead to the creation of research centers and economic development. The grant provides funding to the Research Challenge – to assist faculty researchers in competing for external funding on a national basis, the STEM Fellowships- program to help WVU and Marshall recruit and support highly qualified graduate students, the SURE program- Summer Undergraduate Research Experience, Instrumentation Grants- provides advanced ungraduated labs, and Innovations Grants- provides improvements in equipment, facilities, and curriculum at undergraduate institutions. The fund also provides Opportunity Funds, which are smaller awards. The program also provides expert peer review services to allow assistant faculty to develop competitive proposals for funding.

Lastly, the committee heard an update on charter schools. In West Virginia, there are five charter schools. Two are virtual and three are in-person schools. Two more charter schools have been authorized for the Fall of 2024 and there are three more applications under review. The number of students enrolled next year is expected to be around 2,200 students.

The largest challenge facing charter schools is funding. Charter schools do not receive start-up funding. Therefore, boards and founders must rely on private fundraising, grants, philanthropic gifts, loans, or work with management companies. There are no excess levy revenues for charter schools, and they cannot issue bonds. Charter schools must pay for facilities from regular operating funds.

Progress was made in the 2023 session for charter school funding, but the problem is not solved. The Charter School Board did apply and receive a federal grant of $12.3 million over five years. The charter school stimulus fund was created but has not been funded.

Possible legislative solutions were offered during the meeting and include:
1. Appropriation to the charter school’s stimulus fund
2. Per pupil funding for facility costs
3. Lease reimbursement for facility costs
4. Greater access to unused public buildings
5. Increased enrollment funding

West Virginia has been plagued with one of the lowest workforce participation rates in the nation for years, but one lawmaker suggested during Tuesday’s interim meetings that the way the number is calculated makes the state’s standing artificially low.

Senator Rollan Roberts (R-Raleigh, 09) suggested striving to find the state’s true rate during a meeting of the Legislative Oversight Commission on Workforce Development and Labor Issues.

The workforce participation rate measures the number of people in a workforce capable of working or searching for work. This is different from the unemployment rate, which measures the number of people actively searching for work.

Roberts and WorkForce West Virginia recently asked the Bureau for Business and Economic Research at West Virginia University to look at the state’s labor force participation and attempt to find the true rate, excluding those unable to work due to age or disability.

“We found out that everyone in the state of West Virginia who can walk is counted no matter what their age, their mental capacity or their physical ability,” Roberts said. “When you start thinking about that in the mix of West Virginia, we have a lot of people who can walk, but there is no way they’re going to be able to work.”

Roberts and WorkForce West Virginia Director Scott Adkins, told committee members that by removing residents over 75 years of age and residents who are disabled and unable to work, West Virginia’s labor force participation rate is close to 75 percent.

Adkins called the state being saddled with the lowest workforce participation rate in the country “disingenuous”, noting that the state has an older population and the largest disability rate per capita in the country.

Adkins also noted that the labor force participation rate doesn’t include gig economy workers who are paid on a contract basis, making up about 5 percent of the state’s workforce. He added that another 13 percent of state workers go uncounted toward the rate because they work in other states.

The Committee on Energy and Manufacturing met this evening and heard about manufacturing growth in the state.

Manufacturing is growing in West Virginia. Chemical manufacturing is the largest sector, however, hardwoods, mechanical, and other manufacturing are growing as well. There have been 4,300 manufacturing jobs added in the state thus far and more are to come. The average compensation for manufacturing jobs is $78,000 a year.

The West Virginia Manufacturers Association surveyed its members for feedback about manufacturing in the state. Results included that barriers in the state include taxes on tangible property and equipment, workforce development, infrastructure, public education, energy stability and security, antiquated regulations, and balancing environmental protections with economic development. The legislature can create laws to help with these barriers.

WV could model policies from other states related to increasing second-chance hiring, public education on the need for manufacturing, decreasing taxation, and retaining jobs while building new ones.

The greatest concerns companies have about operations in West Virginia include federal regulations, workforce ability and talent pipeline, wage inflation, worker mentality for remote work, misconception about larger businesses, national bias against coal, and a growing disconnect between legislature and businesses.

Positive news provided during the presentation is that 74 percent of companies surveyed believe WV is headed in the right direction.

The committee heard about new investments and expansion of manufacturing in West Virginia. Nucor Steel is in Mason County. The company has over 100 employees, 30 of whom are local to the area and at least 10 who worked in various states but wanted to move home to WV. Nucor’s VP has spoken and will continue to speak to schools in the area to teach them about manufacturing so they can see it as something they can do and be proud to do. The company has a strong relationship with BridgeValley and other CTEs. Nucor is working to encourage more women to choose steelmaking as a career while removing barriers such as childcare needs.

The next company the committee heard from was Chemours Washington Works, which has two locations: one in Belle, WV, and one outside of Parkersburg, WV. Chemours is a global chemical manufacturer with 6,600 employees worldwide. Currently, there are 730 jobs in WV at the two plants. It is the largest chemical manufacturer in the state but wants to grow and create an additional 200 jobs. The company has partnered with local high schools and is looking to hire locally to train individuals to work for them. There are three markets Chemours wants to grow in: (1) CYMA conductors which use PFA and are used in chip manufacturing, (2) Electric Vehicles which use PTFE and are used to make EV batteries, and (3) Clean Hydrogen which uses the monomer to make Nafion membrane.

The committee then heard from Niterra, formerly NGK. Niterra is a Japanese company, but their North American manufacturing facility is located in Kanawha County, just off the Pocatalica exit. The company rebranded as it is producing more than NGK sparkplugs now. Niterra is a “made-up” word taking the Latin words nitor (shining) and terra (earth) to create a new word with the meaning of shining earth. Niterra has three pillars: mobility, energy, and medical, which are the sectors the company is creating products. The site expansion in Kanawha County will add 20 new high-quality jobs. The company is working with Workforce WV and BridgeValley for hiring.

The final company the committee heard from was Form Energy. Form Energy employs over 500 people: 200 in CA, 250 in MA, and more in Eighty Four, PA. The individuals working in Eighty Four (the test pilot facility) will be relocated to Weirton, WV as soon as the construction is complete. The company broke ground on the Weirton facility in May and is looking to begin production in 2024. Form Energy creates large-scale batteries that can be used to back up the grid. These batteries can be used by utility companies to provide more reliable and affordable utilities to consumers. The Weirton facility will employ over 750 people. New Form has already hired local individuals for construction in Weirton and has hired others from Weirton to work in Eighty Four to train to work in the Weirton factory. The company has already sold out its first two years of production and is working on selling its third year.

West Virginia has done a great job at enticing manufacturers to the state, but it needs to focus on retaining these companies. West Virginia is an energy state. It is the fourth-largest producer of energy and the fifth-largest exporter of energy.

The Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Resources Accountability met this morning to hear an update on the reorganization of DHHR into three departments.

First, the Department of Commerce Secretary presented his experience with shared services between departments. The Department of Tourism and the Department of Economic Development use shared services such as legal, accounting, marketing, and communications.

The new secretaries of the Department of Health, the Department of Human Services, and the Department of Health Facilities presented on the reorganization of DHHR. They provided drafts of the organizational charts.

They are working to identify areas of large vacancies in each department and deciding how to recruit or cut positions. Communication has been and will continue to be key in the reorganization process. Each secretary has met with the new departments to understand the critical needs for moving forward. A memorandum of understanding is in the works. The departments are working with higher education institutions to fill vacancies. Some bureaus have seen decreases in vacancies since January, however, health facilities have seen an increase.

The three departments will share services under the Office of Shared Administration. There will be a chief of staff who will work for all three secretaries. Chief of Staff is a new position, which will be filled by a current employee. The executive assistant, office manager, and receptionist will report to the chief of staff. Shared Administration will also include Constituent Services, Core Communications/marketing, Core Finance, Core HR, Core Procurement/Purchasing, and Core Operations. The secretaries also have considered the following positions or departments within Shared Administration, if needed, Deputy Chief of Staff, Continuous Quality Improvement, Strategic Initiatives, and Grants.

***This is a draft organizational chart.

The Department of Human Services will have a secretary and two deputy secretaries, who will report to the secretary. The Deputy Secretary of Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder will oversee the Bureau for Behavioral Health and the Office of Drug Control Policy. The Deputy Secretary for Child and Adult Services will oversee the Bureau of Social Services, the Bureau for Child Support Enforcement, and the Office of Continuous Quality Improvement. Also reporting to the Human Services Secretary will be the Bureau for Family Assistance, Bureau for Medical Services, MIS, Media Relations, and Counsel.

***This is a draft organizational chart.

The Department of Health Facilities will have a secretary who oversees the Director of Strategy, COO Facilities, Hospital CEOs, and Long-Term Care CEOs. COO Facilities will work with the Director of Strategy. The Secretary will also oversee counsel, media relations, and MIS.

***This is a draft organizational chart.

The Department of Health will have a secretary who will oversee a deputy secretary, counsel, media relations, and MIS. The Office Directors for Emergency Medical Services, Chief Medical Examiners, Threat Preparedness, and Health Care Authority will report to the Secretary along with the Commissioner of the Bureau of Public Health and Inspector General. Under the Inspector General will be OFLAC, the Board of Review, the Office of Foster Care Ombudsman, the Office of Investigations & Fraud Management, the Olmstead Office, the Office of Quality Control, the Office of Mental Health Ombudsman, WV CARES, and the Human Rights Commission.

***This is a draft organizational chart.

The Committee also received an update on the unwinding of the Medicaid Continues Enrollment Provision. For three years, no one was rolled off Medicaid. The Medicaid Unwind began in March of 2023. West Virginia is working with multiple partners for a 12-month unwind. Information is being tracked well and is on the Medicaid website.

Lawmakers and members of the judicial branch continued to discuss solutions for bail and reporting requirements during Monday’s meeting of the Oversight Commission on Regional Jail and Correctional Facilities.

During last month’s special session, lawmakers couldn’t reach consensus on a bill that that would have changed bail procedures in the state and added reporting requirements meant to limit the number of people being held in jails without a conviction. Lawmakers continued deliberations Monday with those that work on both sentencing and bail procedures.

The bill proposed in the special session would have added reporting requirements for prosecutors and the Supreme Court. The legislation would have altered how arrested individuals could post bail, adding in stipulations for using bail bondsmen and property transfers and liens instead of judges only allowing cash payments.

Under the legislation, county prosecutors would have been required to file bimonthly reports to their county commissions listing each person currently held in custody without a conviction for longer than 10 days, as well as compelling reasons for why they were being held.

Some counties already follow these reporting requirements voluntarily while others don’t, creating a hodgepodge of inconclusive data that makes it difficult to understand why so many people are being held without convictions.

Kanawha County Public Defender Ronni Sheets told lawmakers that codifying reporting requirements would alleviate the lack of consistent data and in turn, decrease the jail population, ultimately saving counties millions of dollars.

Sheets told lawmakers that as of Sept. 11, 2023, there were 500 people being held in jails across the state who are accused of committing misdemeanors but who have not been convicted by a court. For perspective, Sheets said only about 250 people incarcerated in the state are serving a sentence due to a misdemeanor charge.

Sheets urged lawmakers to remember that while the cost to taxpayers to keep those charged with misdemeanors in jail is high (roughly $54 a night), the human cost can be higher, as these people can lose jobs, homes and custody of their children.

The Committee on Government Organization met this evening.

The first presentation was about Senate Bill 626, increasing penalties for operating a house of prostitution.

Human trafficking is happening in West Virginia. In WV, the massage therapy businesses are facilities where human trafficking is taking place. Investigations have found that through organized crime individuals were applying to be licensed as massage therapists; however, it was found one person was filling out the applications for several people. The Massage Board has worked with law enforcement to shut down these locations, but they just reopened a few months later in a new location.

The women working in these facilities often refer to the leaders of the crime organization as the boss or a handler. The only time the business owner or boss comes around is when investigations happen. The leaders of this organization recruit women from other countries with the promise to have them work as licensed and legitimate massage therapists. Then, the women are forced into sexual work and not allowed to leave the premises.

Testing centers and licensing boards are being educated to be aware of the human trafficking situations. If a woman is accompanied by a handler during testing or during the application process, it should be flagged.

The goal of Senate Bill 626 is to arrest the individuals organizing this crime, not the women forced into living and working in these facilities.

A detective from Parkersburg presented a case involving unwanted sexual advances at two massage businesses in the Parkersburg area. At both businesses, the owner was hands-off, and a Chinese woman lived and worked at the business. Undercover officers were sent to each location and sexual advances were made. The owner stated that the women were “self-employed contractors” at his business, and he never instructed them to make these advances. It’s been found that it’s becoming very common for these situations to take place in West Virginia. Human trafficking can be physical, but it can also be psychological with threats to individuals and families being made. The case is moving forward with hopes of prosecution.

The committee also heard reports from PERD.

The first report reviewed was the termination of the Board of Hearing Aid Dealers. The report was required by law to be sent by the board to PERD to present to the committee. Effective June 30, 2023, the Board of Hearing Aid Dealers was officially terminating. Any remaining funds were sent to General Revenue. The furniture and equipment went to the Board of Landscape and Architects as it was being shared. Records were handled appropriately. Licensure for hearing aid dealers will continue under the Board of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology.

Next, a report on public transit was presented. The recommendations made in this report are that public transit needs to develop a long-range plan to increase services. Public Transit should work with regional development councils to increase ridership and expand services. State code should be updated relating to public transit plates to ensure all transit providers are treated the same when registering plates.

The final PERD presentation was provided on the Board of Physical Therapy. The board complies with the code. Its website does need modest improvements and ADA requirements are not met throughout the building. The board is self-sufficient. Currently, the board’s balance is four times the budgeted expenses. The State Treasure should make transfers to general revenue when the board’s revenue is twice as much as the board’s expenses. Due to fee changes and increased expenses, the board is not processing an excess in revenue. However, the current balance is in excess and an additional transfer from the Treasurer is expected.

The last presentation for the committee was on the hiring and compensation process with the Division of Personnel. Screenings for the registries used to be four to six weeks. Now, it is between 24 hours for auto screening and up to four days if rated by a person. The position is posted for 10 days internally and 15 days to the public. It is recommended that this is done simultaneously. After an applicant is rated and ranked, the registry goes to the agency and the Division of Personnel no longer has control over hiring time.

The compensation process is only for DOP classified under the DOP merit system principles. Pay grades are assigned by education and experience. There is a minimum and a maximum within the pay grade. The classification is set up with certain percentages, which is not how it usually would be done. However, it would cost millions to change the classification system.

With exemptions, some agencies are able to offer higher pay scales. This leads to losing personnel to other agencies in state government. There is a structure in DOP pay scales and classifications.

West Virginia University Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, Rob Alsop, addressed the Joint Committee on Finance regarding the university’s planned restructuring during September interim meetings Monday morning.

Alsop made it clear to the committee that President Gordon Gee’s job is secure, despite an overwhelming no confidence vote from faculty last week. Gee, previously scheduled to address the committee, was not in attendance today, citing a personal matter.

Due to enrollment decline, WVU faces an estimated budget shortfall of $45 million, which it is planning to address via a combination of tuition increases, the use of financial reserves and faculty and program cuts.

The university completed an appeals process last week for announced program changes, altering the programs and number of faculty to be cut. Alsop characterized the cuts as a fraction of the university’s overall academic offerings, in line with a higher education funding formula established by the Legislature.

Some lawmakers expressed concern about students’ ability to receive a well-rounded education at WVU post cuts, as well as the university’s ability to keep its status as an R1 research university.

Alsop assured committee members that the majority of the planned cuts are to programs with relatively low enrollment and that the R1 designation will not be impacted in any meaningful way.

The WVU Board of Governors, whose members are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the state Senate, will meet this week to vote on the proposed cuts and changes. They released a statement last week supporting Gee and the university’s planned restructuring.

Alsop noted that WVU would obviously accept financial help from the Legislature but reiterated the administration’s position that an influx of one-time money for this year would only delay the adverse effects of clear structural issues at the university.

“If I thought there was a realistic opportunity to get another $50 million or $60 million in base funding every year for WVU, we would have been down here,” Alsop said. “But one-time funding is not going to fix the enrollment challenges long-term.”