Senate Passes Massive Foster Care Bill, House Rejects Intermediate Court Of Appeals

The House of Delegates’ foster care bill was up for a vote in the Senate Friday, while the Senate’s Intermediate Court of Appeals bill was up for a vote in the House. We recap that action and more in our weekly reporter roundtable.

Host Suzanne Higgins speaks with Brad McElhinny of West Virginia MetroNews, Taylor Stuck of The Huntington Herald-Dispatch, and Phil Kabler, of The Charleston Gazette-Mail.

Highlights from the interview:

• HB 4092 – major foster care bill that creates a bill of rights for both foster parents and foster children. As it was amended by the Senate:
  • Encourages more kinship placements
  • Directs the state Department of Health and Human Resources to increase efforts to keep children in their homes.
  • Expands a tiered foster care system to provide higher payments for foster parents providing care to foster children with severe emotional, behavioral or intellectual disabilities.
  • Develops a pilot program to certify kinship parents.
• SB 275 – creating an Intermediate Court of Appeals – was rejected in the House of Delegates.
• Thoughts on what’s to come in the final day of the 2020 West Virginia Legislative session

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myQj7eHXhvw

A small army clad in red have been seen at the Capitol throughout the session. Randy Yohe spoke with several AARP volunteers about lobbying for their membership.

On Saturday, West Virginia Public Broadcasting will broadcast the final four hours of the 2020 session live from the Capitol. We’ll begin our broadcast at 8:00 p.m., following both House and Senate floor action. We’ll have interviews with lawmakers and review the major bills of the session.