Abuse & Neglect Story Archives - Page 2 of 3 - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Boone County Girl Update: Justice Confirms Police Drove To CPS To Make Referral

A West Virginia State Trooper said he saw Kyneddi Miller nearly a year before her death and filed a Child Protective Service (CPS) referral in person at the agency’s Boone County office in March of 2023. Yet CPS has denied any record of this.

In a briefing yesterday, Gov. Jim Justice said his administration had confirmed that the police officer’s cruiser was at least in the parking lot of CPS on the day the officer said he filed a report.

Miller was found in a near skeletal state in her grandmother’s home in Morrisvale on April 17.

Reporters pressed the governor with questions about accountability and transparency in the case. He told reporters to wait for the investigation to be closed.

“If you just let the thing play out, that’s all I’m asking you to do,” Justice said. “Let the investigation play out. If it plays out, and somebody’s really dropped the ball, they won’t be here to drop the ball again.”

Justice said the state agencies involved will self-report information to the governor’s office as part of the investigative process.

“Once we gather the information, if we have reason to believe we didn’t get all the information, or there’s people that are withholding stuff and everything, then we’ll dig deeper,” Justice said.

He also commented on CPS records from years prior that mentioned the now deceased fourteen-year-old girl, despite ongoing claims from CPS that they had no records related to the girl’s death at all.

“I know about those two reports,” Justice said. “Where one was made about something I don’t know if it was drugs or whatever it may be, but one was made about that. Kyneddi was referenced because she was in the home.”

W.Va.’s First Foster Care Ombudsman Resigns

The appointed watchdog of the West Virginia Foster Care System has resigned, effective June 6.

The first West Virginia Foster Care Ombudsman, Pamela Woodman-Kaehler, will resign effective June 6 to pursue new opportunities.

“We very much appreciate Pamela’s work over the years and her passion for serving the children of this state,” said Ann Urling, interim inspector general for the Departments of Health, Human Services, and Health Facilities. ”We wish her well in all of her future endeavors.”

Elizabeth Hardy will serve as the acting office director foster care ombudsman in her place.

“It has been an incredible honor and pleasure to serve the citizens of West Virginia as the state’s first foster care ombudsman. I am choosing to pursue a new opportunity, but the program is exceptionally well positioned to serve our foster care system,” said Woodman-Kaehler. “I extend grateful thanks to department leaders and other stakeholders who have supported the important work of the foster care ombudsman.”

The foster care ombudsman, a position allowed for by legislation passed in 2019 and 2020, advocates for the rights of foster children, investigates and resolves complaints, and provides assistance to foster families, among other responsibilities.

Since then, lawmakers have been expanding the scope and independence of the Foster Care Ombudsman’s Office.

In 2023, House Bill 3061 was passed, permitting the foster care ombudsman to investigate reported allegations of abuse and neglect for critical incidents and to investigate children placed in the juvenile justice system. Previously, the ombudsman could only investigate complaints involving a foster child, foster parents or kinship parents.

Kelli Caseman, executive director of Think Kids WV, a statewide advocacy group focused on the health and well-being of West Virginia’s children, was one of the advocates pushing for the creation of an ombudsman.

Bills to further clarify the foster care ombudsman’s authority regarding child abuse and neglect investigations did not pass during the 2024 legislative session.

“I think that she really has given a voice to families, you know, of course, kids don’t have that opportunity to share their concerns, their challenges, their trauma. We are rightfully protective of their personal information,” Caseman said. “But so they really don’t have a voice, and we often find that their parents don’t have that voice either, and so Pamela really gave a voice and a platform to some of these challenges.”

Woodman-Kaehler’s resignation garnered praise for her work ethic in a difficult field but left some wondering if the ombudsman is encumbered by outside influences.

News of Woodman-Kaehler’s resignation broke less than a week after an April deposition of former deputy secretary of the previous Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR), Jeremiah Samples, was made public.

The deposition was conducted in connection with a 2019 class action lawsuit, filed by A Better Childhood (ABC), a New York-based nonprofit, along with Shafer and Shafer and Disability Rights West Virginia against the now-split DHHR.

Marcia Robinson Lowry, the lead plaintiff for the class, and executive director of A Better Childhood, said she has been interested in interviewing Samples since his departure from the department.

“We took his deposition and we expected that we would get this kind of information,” Lowry said. “We didn’t know exactly what we would get, of course. But we were not surprised to get this kind of information.”

The lawsuit alleges the DHHR failed to properly care for thousands of foster kids, putting some in dangerous and unsafe situations.

In the original court filing, the plaintiffs allege, “Children in West Virginia’s foster care system have been abused and neglected, put in inadequate and dangerous placements, institutionalized and segregated from the outside world, left without necessary services, and forced to unnecessarily languish in foster care for years.”

The group filed a complaint in federal court in October 2019, denouncing the DHHR’s “over-reliance” on shelter care, shortages in case workers and a “failure to appropriately plan for the children in its custody.”

The following year, a motion for class action status was filed but left undecided when the case was dismissed in 2021. In 2022, that decision was reversed by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and the class action motion was renewed in May 2023.

“It’s been delayed twice, because of the defendants failing to produce materials to us,” Lowry said. “So it is going forward, and the trial will be in November.”

In the deposition, Samples, who is now senior advisor to the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Government and Finance, testified that the Department of Human Services (DoHS) was not providing certain information to the Foster Care Ombudsman’s Office.

“There was an effort in 2023, through legislation, to accomplish that (investigative access for the ombudsman),” Samples said. “It was then stated by the ombudsman that they were still not being provided access because of a discussion or because of a position by Ms. [Cammie] Chapman.”

Samples testified that in early 2024, he learned that Deputy Secretary of Children and Adult Services Cammie Chapman was not providing investigative data to the ombudsman, due to the department’s interpretation of House Bill 3061.

“It was relayed that it was the interpretation of the department and Ms. Chapman that the ombudsman would not have access to that information,” Samples said.

Furthermore, Samples testified that the ombudsman had to contend with the previous DHHR secretary, Bill Crouch, who retired in 2022. He recalled a conversation with the ombudsman during the deposition.

“She said that she was called in to Secretary Crouch’s office,” Samples said. “And I don’t recall specifically how she worded it. But the tone of the conversation was that it was a threat, to be very careful about conversations that she had with the legislature and documents that she would release.”

Legal Director of Disability Rights West Virginia Mike Folio praised Woodman-Kaehler’s work but called her resignation a failure of the department.

“The resignation of Pamela Woodman-Kaehler is a sad chapter in DHHR’s and DoHS’ failed history to protect vulnerable children,” Folio said. “Sworn testimony exists that shows former DHHR Secretary Bill Crouch and current DoHS Deputy Secretary Cammie Chapman have meddled in the foster care ombudsman’s affairs, directed her to conceal information from the legislature, and withheld information from her that would have enabled her to conduct investigations to protect the state’s vulnerable children. Pam is a champion for children and her resignation highlights the state’s failure to safeguard children.”

Samples testified that he and Woodman-Kaehler also discussed shortfalls in the Child Protective Services (CPS) system. He said topics of conversation included CPS not properly conducting investigations and CPS case workers not being prepared in court.

“There would be a referral to centralized intake and concerns that these referrals were being screened out inappropriately,” Samples said. “For example, I recall specifically talking to her about the percentage of cases that were being investigated historically. So you go back to 2017, for example, there might have been 67, 69 percent of all referrals investigated. And now, I think the last time I saw the data, it was 60 point something percent.”

Samples also testified that the ombudsman found that there was fear of retaliation by CPS workers. He said he’s received similar complaints, “as recently as this week,” in the April 18, 2024 deposition.

“There were certainly reports at the time that CPS workers were using their authority to retaliate against foster parents, biological families,” Samples said. “And those concerns continue to be reported through constituent referrals to me at the legislature.”

Caseman said Woodman-Kaehler prepared a report for the legislature in 2021, documenting these findings.

“That (report) explained that over 90 percent of the people who called her office, either primary or secondary reason was out of fear of retaliation of the system, which really opened a lot of eyes, that there needs to be more transparency and more effort to ensure that our foster care families, our biological families, families that are transitioning through the child welfare system are treated with, you know, compassion and respect,” Caseman said.

During his weekly media briefing, Gov. Jim Justice addressed Woodman-Kaehler’s resignation.

“She got a better job, guys,” Justice said. “I mean, that’s all there is to it. You know, I mean, this business of attacking people and everything and … digging into everything coming and going. I mean, if she’s telling us she got a better job, you know, and why don’t we celebrate that?”

Justice brought up Sample’s deposition and said “this” all started with Crouch’s firing of Samples.

“From what I understand, Bill Crouch and Jeremiah Samples were butting heads,” Justice said. “Jeremiah Samples was the second in charge. He was in charge, the second man in charge here for a decade plus. And now he runs through the building saying everything in the world was wrong? Why didn’t he fix it? Why in the world didn’t he fix it? If something was wrong?”

Justice said he thinks everyone who works in the West Virginia government is doing their best.

“I really think for the most part, these people surely got their heart in and are trying really hard and they don’t deserve, you know, to be beat on,” Justice said.

According to the West Virginia Child Welfare Dashboard, there are 6,094 children in state care.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Marshall Health.

Man Held At Sharpe Hospital Sues State Officials

A patient at Sharpe Hospital has filed a lawsuit against the facility, its CEO and state health officials.

Editor’s note: The following may be disturbing for some readers.

Disability Rights West Virginia (DRWV) has filed a lawsuit on behalf of an adult male, referred to as J.P., with developmental disabilities that says he has been physically abused and wrongfully held at William R. Sharpe Hospital for more than 570 days.

DRWV is the state’s federally-mandated protection advocacy system for people with disabilities.

On Sept. 14, 2022, J.P. was removed from a Westbrook facility and sent to Sharpe Hospital.

Westbrook is a company that runs residential housing for people with disabilities. Sharpe Hospital is a psychiatric facility under state operation.

According to the Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification (OHFLAC), Westbrook’s care provider and licensed social worker falsely represented to the Wood County mental hygiene commissioner that J.P. “violently and aggressively attacked his roommate” to attempt to justify J.P.’s improper involuntary civil commitment.

Tina Wiseman, the OHFLAC director who oversaw the investigation of the incident stated, according to the lawsuit, the incident did not occur.

“We did an investigation when I was at OHFLAC and what the provider wrote down on the commitment papers didn’t take place,” Wiseman said. “We watched it on the video, and it did not take place. There needs to be something that holds that provider accountable when they falsify commitment papers to get the person out of there. I mean they’re stripping someone of their rights there’s just no accountability…You never ever would have known, I mean they said he [J.P.] viciously attacked his roommate. He never touched him. He never touched him. It was pretty horrible.”

Legal Director for Disability Rights West Virginia, Mike Folio said J.P. is being held unlawfully at Sharpe Hospital.

“J.P.’s case is absolutely egregious because he was in a community setting, and evidence provided by the former OHFLAC director is that Westbrook, a community-based provider that was responsible for caring for J.P. falsified the application to get him involuntarily committed,” Folio said.

A month after arriving at the facility, on Oct. 12, 2022, Sharpe Hospital determined that J.P. was “eligible for discharge and clinically stable.”

The hospital determined that his purported behaviors were related to his developmental disability and “not any psychosis,” as is required by West Virginia state code for involuntary commitment to a state hospital.

“A diagnosis of dementia, epilepsy, or intellectual or developmental disability alone may not be a basis for involuntary commitment to a state hospital,” state code states.

On or before Oct. 12, 2022, Sharpe Hospital reported that Westbrook refused to accept J.P. if he were to be discharged. The hospital also documented that Westbrook’s strict criteria are unrealistic and attainable for J.P. and questioned the original mental hygiene petition, or referral to Sharpe, since the hospital has not observed the behavior reported in the petition.

On Oct. 19, 2022, five days after Sharpe Hospital’s finding that J.P. was clinically stable and ready for discharge, the Lewis County Mental Hygiene Commissioner, Brian W. Bailey held a hearing and entered an order that civilly-committed J.P. to Sharpe Hospital.

According to the lawsuit, Sharpe Hospital clinicians have shared that J.P and other persons in similar situations are “decompensating” during their commitment to the hospital given the chaotic psychiatric hospital environment.

“J.P. is really, sadly, he’s the poster child for a failed system where the Department of Human Services that’s responsible for overseeing and providing community placements isn’t doing it, then it’s a failure of the Secretary of the Health Facilities to continue to keep somebody locked up,” Folio said.

Sharpe CEO Patrick Ryan, Department of Human Services Secretary Cynthia Persily and Department of Health Facility Secretary Michael Caruso were also named as defendants.

“We’re naming all of the responsible parties, including the Chief Medical Officer who has the ability to discharge him, the Administrator of Sharpe Hospital who continues to allow him to be unlawfully committed, the Secretary of the Department of Health Facilities that has the authority to discharge him or direct the discharge, but he won’t,” Folio said. “And then Secretary (Cynthia) Persily, who’s the Secretary of the Department of Human Services that oversees the community placements. So all of these individuals collectively and individually, have really combined to create this pattern of J.P. being unlawfully committed and continuing to be unlawfully committed.”

On Jan. 30, 2023, Westbrook notified J.P.’s mother and guardian that Westbrook had discharged J.P. and he was prohibited from returning to his prior residence. In addition, Westbrook stopped providing IDD Waiver services to J.P. and charged him rent for a Westbrook residence from the time of his involuntary civil commitment until his discharge from Westbrook’s service even though he was not living there.

J.P.’s Sharpe Hospital records reveal that J.P.’s behaviors escalate over his frustration with remaining at Sharpe Hospital and he repeats, “Go home, go home.”

On or about June 9, 2023 one or more Sharpe Hospital employees abused and physically assaulted J.P., according to an investigation by Legal Aid of West Virginia (LAWV), cited in the lawsuit.

LAWV obtained a statement from Dr. Abid Rizvi, J.P.’s primary treating psychiatrist, and Dr. Rizvi observed that J.P. was physically abused.

In an interview with LAWV, Rizvi said the bruising could not have been self-inflicted and that a bruise on J.P.’s back resembled a shoe print.

“So you have a staff member who physically battered a vulnerable protected person,” Folio said. “And again J.P.’s own physician has said this, not us J.P.’s own physician or psychiatrist and the person who battered him walks around with impunity that consequences are nothing.”

Ryan and Caruso have stated that J.P. was not abused or assaulted.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health Facilities and Department of Human Service’s Office of Shared Administration told West Virginia Public Broadcasting:

“The West Virginia Department of Health Facilities and Department of Human Services are in receipt of the complaint and are reviewing it with litigation counsel at this time.”

A patient advocate took photos of J.P. inside Sharpe Hospital following the alleged abuse.

Courtesy Photos

A Winding Search For Accountability In The Starving Death Of Boone County Child

The advocacy organization representing those with disabilities in West Virginia has filed a notice of suit against Gov. Jim Justice, other top state officials and agencies.

Disability Rights West Virginia filed a notice of legal action Thursday against Gov. Jim Justice, Secretary of the Department of Human Services (DoHS) Cynthia Persily, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and the West Virginia Department of Human Services itself.

The letter was sent to each party and members of the media, alleging the DoHS violated its Child Protective Services Policy and the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) in connection with the death of a child in Boone County, W.Va.

History Of The Case

On April 17, Julie Anne Stone Miller was arrested and charged with child neglect causing death after her daughter was found “emaciated to a skeletal state,” the Boone County Sheriff’s Office told Eyewitness News. She has pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Deputies responded to a death call in Morrisvale, Boone County that morning and found the girl, later identified as 14-year-old Kyneddi Miller, on the bathroom floor on a foam pad.

According to the complaint, she had an eating disorder for several years. The child’s grandmother was interviewed as part of the investigation and told deputies the girl had not attended school or left the house, except possibly two times, in the last four years.

The grandmother also said the child had not been eating for months, and was unable to function on her own for four to five days prior to her death due to her physical state.

On May 20, Kyneddi’s grandparents, Donna and Jerry Stone, who shared the home with Kyneddi and her mother, were arrested and charged with child neglect causing death.

Was CPS Involved Or Not? A Timeline Of Seeking Accountability.

After the news of Kyneddi’s death broke, media outlets across the state began asking questions of state officials.

DoHS Cabinet Secretary Cynthia Persily released a statement April 22. The press release provided no further information on the case, but cited West Virginia Code that all records and information concerning a child or juvenile that are maintained by DoHS are confidential and may not be released or disclosed to anyone, including any federal or state agency.

The release further cited CAPTA, one of the laws Disability Rights West Virginia now accuses the department of violating, as requiring it to preserve the confidentiality of all child abuse and neglect reports.

“The role of DoHS’s CPS is to investigate allegations of abuse and neglect when the allegations are against a parent, guardian or custodian,” the release reads. “Child safety is paramount in all CPS investigations. CPS policy and Chapter 49 of the West Virginia Code require that any report alleging abuse or neglect of children is to be investigated/assessed by DoHS.”

The statement by Kyneddi’s grandmother, Donna Stone, saying she hadn’t been in school since 2019 prompted the media to ask Justice during his weekly media briefing on April 23 if the girl had been homeschooled and if so, why an academic assessment hadn’t brought attention to her condition.

“I think the answer just got to be just one thing,” Justice said. “The CPS folks, from what I understand, [had] no idea about this, about this child, no idea whatsoever.”

On April 26, Eyewitness News reported that they had received documents through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) confirming Kyneddi started homeschooling in February 2021 at the request of her mother, citing concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic.

Television station WSAZ published evidence from their own investigation and a whistleblower on May 6 as part of their investigation into the incident, Deadly Details Denied.

Reporter Curtis Johnson was denied documents by the Department of Human Services and referred back to the statement. In the law on confidentiality, he found that the department, in case of a child neglect fatality, “shall make public information relating to the case.” Johnson found that same requirement in federal law.

Johnson submitted a FOIA request for any history that CPS had with the Boone County teenager. His request was denied.

Johnson later set up an interview with Persily where he repeatedly asked her if the DHS had any knowledge of Kynneddi.

“We have no record of contact with this family — about this particular child,” Persily told Johnson.

After speaking with Persily, the station received a response to their FOIA request sent to the West Virginia State Police. The response includes notes from a welfare check on the teenager in March 2023. The trooper who responded can be heard on audio files obtained by the station saying he is referring the child to CPS.

On May 8, Justice walked back his prior comments during a regular media briefing.

“Will I stand behind what I said two weeks ago now that I know the information I know today? No way,” Justice said in response to a question from Johnson.

Justice blamed the DoHS attorneys for the confusion.

“When they give us information, then we’ve got to act on the information they give us,” Justice said.

The Justice administration has said it is exploring ways to legally provide better information to the public.

“I’ll absolutely direct them to follow the law. You know, without any question,” Justice said.

Persily said that the administration is also looking to other states to understand their transparency practices. Persily advised journalists and members of the public to obtain and use the critical accident report that is filed annually.

“That report, of course, has not been reported on in the media,” Persily said. “And we would just encourage everyone who wants to have information about child fatalities in the state to look at that report and the information is contained there.”

However, that report shows limited details on CPS actions, responsibility and culpability. The current report does not have any information of the death of Kyneddi Miller.

On May 21, Persily released a statement refuting the report from WSAZ.

“We are aware of information suggesting that West Virginia State Police intended to make a referral on this child in March 2023,” Department Secretary Cynthia Persily said. “However, a comprehensive search of DoHS records suggests no referral was ever made.”

Nearly two weeks after WSAZ’s report, Persily reiterated the department had no records of abuse.

“DoHS never received an abuse or neglect referral relating to the death of Kyneddi Miller, and was therefore not involved in the life of this child prior to her passing,” Persily said.

In the same statement, Persily said that the whistleblower broke state and federal law by sharing the information with WSAZ.

“We are extremely disappointed by the disclosure of information relating to those prior matters by an anonymous informant and by members of the local media,” Persily said.

Notice Of Suit

On May 23, Disability Rights West Virginia filed a notice of legal action against state officials and the DHS alleging the department concealed documents and information related to Kyneddi’s death.

The notice demands the named parties “cease and desist from any further violation of applicable law regarding the mandatory public disclosure of information and documents related to the Boone County death, child abuse cases, child abuse investigation and child abuse findings.”

The notice also requests documents and electronically stored information from DoHS leadership computers, phones and tablets be preserved.

The advocacy group cited the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, which mandates that child abuse information be publicly disclosed.

The notice also asked that the agency “cease and desist from any threats, intimidation, termination or retaliatory actions against any person and any DHS worker who fulfills DHS’s mandatory duty of disclosing required documents and information.”

Tension Between Media And Executive Branch

In an incident recorded and published on May 22 by WSAZ, Justice’s Chief of Staff Brian Abraham could be heard yelling down a Capitol hallway, “Channel 3 is banned,” as reporters Johnson and Sarah Sager were working to learn more about Kyneddi’s case.

Abraham can be heard saying, “You’re not very good at your job.” He went on to say, “You are not doing a very good job at all.”

According to the reporters, this happened as Sager was waiting to interview state Sen. Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, and Speaker of the House Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, about their closed-door meeting with the DoHS and members of the governor’s staff.

During a virtual press briefing on May 24, West Virginia Public Broadcasting asked Justice his response to the filing and accusations of retaliatory behavior.

“I don’t know, the allegation about, you know, threats or whatever, but I want to tell everybody that works in any capacity for me, and this government in any way, that I want you to always be 100 percent transparent on anything, and nobody, nobody’s gonna come back on you for anything, you know, if you’re just being that transparent and telling the truth,” Justice said.

Justice said if someone wants to file a lawsuit against him, they can.

“From the standpoint of the lawsuit against me, well, you know, people can do that if they choose,” Justice said. “But there’s no champion ever, is going to champion more transparency, and trying to do goodness, and help our kids and look after our kids than myself.”

Also during that press briefing, Eyewitness News’ Leslie Rubin and WSAZ’s Johnson said they’ve received multiple reports that the police officer who visited Kyneddi’s home drove straight to his local DoHS office, in person, to make the CPS report.

“There’s an officer that says that he drove, I guess his personal vehicle or whatever, he drove to the offices and went in and made that report,” Justice said. “At the same time, there’s no evidence that I can uncover so far that a report was made.”

Justice asked the public to remain vigilant and asked anyone with concerns about a child to call the Centralized Intake for Abuse and Neglect Hotline at 1-800-352-6513.

Legislators Call For Action Following Fatal Neglect Of Boone County Teen

A Boone County teen was found deceased in her home earlier this month. Police say she was emaciated to a near skeletal state. It’s now come to light via a Freedom of Information Act Request filed by West Virginia Watch that the child was being homeschooled.

After a legislative session that swirled with debate around homeschooling and child welfare, some are left wondering what could have been done to avoid this.

Sen. Mike Woelfel, D-Cabell, said sources in Boone County have confirmed that the teen had not been in school since 2019. He says while he doesn’t want to name blame, the legislature should consider contributing factors.

“She was a living, breathing teenager. Like any other teenager that had a right to life, and that was she was deprived of that in a horrific way,” Woelfel said. “So it’s a wake up call for everybody in the legislature.”

Woelfel was the lead sponsor of a bill that would set up a critical review team tasked with discussing incidents involving deaths, and near deaths of children in the state. It passed unanimously in the Senate but was never voted on in the House of Delegates.

Woelfel has asked the governor to allow the bill to be considered in the upcoming special session.

Senate Recognizes Child Advocacy Day

Monday was Child Advocacy Day at the Capitol, bringing together child welfare advocates to provide resources and educate the public.

The Senate passed a resolution making Monday Child Advocacy Day at the legislature. Special guests from the West Virginia Child Advocacy Network, or WVCAN, were set up outside the Senate chambers to spread their message.

Kate Flack is the CEO of WVCAN. She said the group was at the Capitol to celebrate the work of local child advocacy centers and their multidisciplinary teams in the past year and to urge the lawmakers to continue to support services to child survivors of abuse.

“Every year, we want to make sure that kids are as safe as possible so that we have laws that keep them safe, that makes sure that those who perpetrate child abuse are held accountable,” Flack said. “We also make sure that the folks who are doing the hard work of supporting children and their healing journey are supported financially, that CPS has support, that law enforcement has support, that prosecuting attorneys have support and that kids have access to mental health services and medical services.”

According to Flack, in the last year 4,879 new children were served by WVCAN’s 21 child advocacy centers.

“A child advocacy center is a child-friendly facility where treatment professionals and investigative professionals work together to hold offenders accountable and help kids heal,” Flack said. “So that includes law enforcement, CPS prosecuting attorneys, mental health providers, medical providers, our forensic interviewers and family advocates at the child advocacy centers. We meet monthly with each of those multidisciplinary investigative teams to coordinate on case outcomes to make sure that kids can heal and offenders are held accountable.”

WVCAN serves 46 of West Virginia’s 55 counties.

“We’re really proud of the work that’s being done, more than 10 percent increase in kids served in the last five years,” Flack said. “We know the services are no less needed now than they were before.”

Flack said WVCAN is expanding its mental health services through support from the Highmark Foundation.

“We’re looking to expand those services even further because we know that kids who have trauma histories do so much better when they get the type of support and medical and mental health support that they need,” Flack said.

A recent study of WVCAN’s services found that West Virginia children are 4.7 times more likely to encounter drug endangerment than the national average.

“Child advocacy centers really helped communities thrive, they are restoring the fabric of our society,” Flack said. “One in 10 kids will be sexually abused by their 18th birthday. So this is not a small problem. We need all hands on deck to support these children. And so we are hopeful that the legislature will continue to do so.”

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Charleston Area Medical Center and Marshall Health.