The House Judiciary Committee met this morning.
The Judiciary Committee heard no reports from subcommittees.
The committee heard from two agencies discussing the state of child welfare across the state of West Virginia.
The committee had no bills up for markup or passage this morning. The Judiciary Committee indicated that they will prioritize reviewing child welfare.
Cindy Largent-Hill, director of the Division of Children’s Services, provided a presentation comparing the state of child welfare over the past few years and its current status.
In 2024, 5,489 juvenile abuse petitions were filed. As of 2025, there has been a 9% decrease in filed petitions, resulting in 5,018 petitions.
On the county level, 18 counties had an increase in petitions from 2% to 113%, remaining counties petitions decreased anywhere from 1% to 95%.
Before 2025, the organization saw a 149 decrease in the number of beds for children who need long-term care. In Feb. 2020, there were 810 beds for children. In Feb. 2025, there was a decrease to 661 beds. After Aug. 1, 2025, there are currently no beds for children needing long-term psychiatric treatment.
Hill said children who need to receive long-term psychiatric treatment are currently being sent out of state to receive the necessary care.
Following Hill’s presentation, Alex J. Mayer, cabinet secretary for the Department of Human Services, reported on the department’s listening tour conducted across May and June 2025.
The Department of Human Services listening tour consisted of eight in-person sessions with the goal of receiving different opinions, ideas and perspectives about child welfare across the state. This tour had more than 350 participants.
The department also held 10 targeted virtual sessions to gather perspectives from any person who works within or is affected by the child welfare system.
Hill said one of the biggest findings from the listening tour is a high rate of inconsistency across the state with child welfare cases, in practice, and policy regarding the system.
The Department of Human Services for West Virginia currently does not have a practice model for child welfare cases. Hill said that without this practice model, creating consistency among cases is challenging.
