CPS Could Be Privatized Under Senate-Approved Pilot Program

A bill passed by the Senate on Tuesday creates a pilot program to privatize parts of West Virginia’s child welfare system.  

Senate Bill 937 stipulates that Child Protective Services (CPS) would still control abuse and neglect investigations including emergency custody and decisions to remove a child from a home. But, if it becomes law, beginning January 2028, a pilot program in Berkeley, Jefferson, Raleigh, Fayette, Monroe and Summers counties would transfer ongoing management of those cases to a private entity. 

Lead sponsor Sen. Tom Willis, R-Berkeley, said the move would allow CPS to focus on its core functions of intake, assessment and investigation. 

“The day-to-day case management shifts from the shoulders of our overworked CPS employees to a private entity or nonprofit that has more capability, resources and bandwidth to manage the case,” he said.

Sen. Mike Woelfel, D-Cabell, said the bill amounted to privatizing CPS in order to have a flat budget, and called it a “horrible idea.”

“Privatize the way we handle the least among us? How many pictures are we going to hold up of dead kids, and who are we going to hold accountable for that? It doesn’t work now. This will make it worse,” Woelfel said. 

“Our child welfare system is broken. When you introduce for-profit, how in the world can somebody make a profit in this situation and even deliver the same service level that we’re doing now?,” he continued. “It won’t work. I’m a fan of privatizing what we can privatize, but when it comes to these at-risk children, this is a horrible idea.”

Willis said the bill represented hope for kids in the system.

“We can keep our kids in a system that needs change, or we can try to implement change,” Willis said.

The bill calls for statewide implementation by July 2029. It now heads to the House of Delegates for consideration.