The Joint Committee on Children and Families met this evening and heard a presentation on youth homelessness. In West Virginia, there are 15,101 students experiencing homelessness; there are students outside of foster care. Of these students experiencing homelessness, 86 % are living with others, 5.4% are staying in shelters, 4.3% are in hotels and motels, and 4.3% are unsheltered.
The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act allows students experiencing homelessness the same access to education as students who are not homeless. The act allows for services, such as tutoring and therapy, programs, such as free lunch and Head Start preschools, and resources, such as clothing and transportation, to be provided to these students. The act gives the students options about which school they want to attend.
McKinney-Vento Liaisons can help students get into pathway programs to earn credits and a diploma to graduate from high school. Liaisons do struggle to get federal identification for older students, which leads to issues with housing and jobs.
The committee heard about the proposed 2026 legislation:
- Casework Service Aide pilot program
- Monthly BHS status meetings of county entities
- Residential treatment facility for children
- Pay raise for panel attorneys for those serving in juvenile neglect and abuse cases – guardian ad litem assistance
- Required court orders to be followed timely and not delayed
- Pay raise for investigative services, paralegal services
- CPS workers wear a body camera, only to be turned off if the investigation or the privacy of the child could be compromised
- Expansion of the WV state police child protection unit
- Head deadline of 12 months for disposition of child abuse and neglect cases
- Increases the circumstances where termination of rights can be applied
- Statewide Abuse and Neglect Prevention Plan
- Pilot program for the use of mobile devices for CPS workers in the field of digital paperwork for better reporting of information
- Kindship care payment to be equal to foster care payment
- Assessment at initial time of placement for clothing vouchers
