Children Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Campaign Ads Targeting Transgender Youth And Understanding W.Va.’s Water Resource, This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, as the primary race for governor enters the home stretch, some candidate’s negative attack ads running endlessly on broadcast and social media target a minority group – transgender children. But what is the fallout from these ads for this vulnerable group, and West Virginia children and families in general? Randy Yohe has the story.

On this West Virginia Morning, as the primary race for governor enters the home stretch, some candidate’s negative attack ads running endlessly on broadcast and social media target a minority group – transgender children. But what is the fallout from these ads for this vulnerable group, and West Virginia children and families in general? Randy Yohe has the story.

Also, in this show, West Virginia has many rivers and creeks all over the state and they are all a bit different. Some are wide and slow moving, some narrow and turbulent. Some flow north and some flow south. On this Earth Day, Briana Heaney sat down with Nicolas Zegre from West Virginia University’s (WVU) Mountain Hydrology Center to talk about one of West Virginia’s most abundant resources – water.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University.

Eric Douglas produced this episode.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

Balancing Digital, Online Access For Kids And The State’s First Commercial Composting Facility On This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, digital devices and social media command more and more of our attention these days. Balancing this and creating healthy boundaries for increasingly younger children is becoming a bigger part of being a parent. Chris Schulz takes a look at this issue in the latest installment of, “Now What? A Series On Parenting.”

On this West Virginia Morning, digital devices and social media command more and more of our attention these days. Balancing this and creating healthy boundaries for increasingly younger children is becoming a bigger part of being a parent. Chris Schulz takes a look at this issue in the latest installment of, “Now What? A Series On Parenting.”

Also, in this show, Monday is Earth Day, an annual reminder of the growing importance of environmental conservation and sustainability. Recycling is a major component of sustainability – and composting highlights recycling at the organic level. As Randy Yohe discovered, West Virginia’s first commercial composting facility is spinning its wheels.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University.

Chris Schulz produced this episode.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

Lily’s Place Holds Ribbon Cutting For Children’s Center

West Virginia lays claim to Lily’s Place, the nation’s first medical center specifically created for infants born from addicted parents. The Huntington facility is now expanding their services to support these growing infants’ siblings and families.

Since 2014, Lily’s Place has served more than 350 babies born with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS). With Huntington having one of the highest opioid addiction rates in the country, organizers found the number of babies born with NAS increasing and knew there had to be a better way to care for them.

They discovered the bright lights, loud beeping equipment and busy atmosphere was the opposite of what babies with NAS need most. Lily’s Place offers private rooms with a quiet atmosphere and dim lighting, which are best for babies with NAS, who are sensitive to light and sound.

Executive Director Rebecca Crowder said the new Children’s Center will provide extended counseling and prevention services to siblings, clients 18 and younger, while still supporting the family unit.

”We were getting so many child referrals that we realized that we needed to give them a safe environment of their own,” Crowder said. “A place where they were comfortable to come in and wait for their appointments, and just be around other youth. We offer counseling and case management for the families to help children deal with the social emotional issues they may be having, and self-regulation.”

Crowder said the new Children’s Center expands on the peer support and case management needed to resolve the societal issues today’s kids face.

“During COVID-19, we found a lot of kids were having issues with depression and anxiety,” she said. “With that came concerns about how they had increased suicidal ideation. It’s not just about dealing with the drugs that are already there, it’s helping them deal with the life issues that they’re facing and learning to cope so they don’t turn to drugs in the future.”

U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., was at the ribbon cutting. She said the addition to the facility was made possible through securing a $1.6 million Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) request that included funding for the project.

Capito said Lily’s Place hasn’t just helped hundreds of NAS babies survive, but set a template of medical help being developed in communities nationwide.

“They are saying this works in my neighborhood, this works in my state,” she said. “This works for the great advocates to try to fight a very, very difficult issue.”

Capito said developing the Children’s Center sets a new template, having raised a teenage daughter herself.

“It’s not easy to be a 13-year-old girl, and it’s getting harder with all the social media and everything,” Capito said. “To have all of the disruptions and unbelievable trauma in your life that piles on when somebody is affected with addiction just makes it so much harder. So, to have that ability for them to come in to meet you all, to receive services, both individually or as a whole, or with their parents or with their family is just so incredible.”

Crowder said even with the new Children’s Center, it always comes back to the babies.

“We’re also trying to see a future where we no longer need to care for babies,” Crowder said. “When there are no more babies born prenatally exposed. However, with that you can’t miss the prevention piece and caring for the siblings and the families.”

Click here for more information on Lily’s Place and its services.

Pfizer, Moderna Vaccines For Infants And Toddlers Coming To W.Va.

Shipments of around 34,000 total new vaccines are coming to West Virginia after a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommendation approved vaccines for children as young as 6 months old last Friday, with Pfizer and Moderna each supplying 17,000 to the state.

Updated on Friday, June 24, 2022 at 4:06 p.m.

Children under 5 years of age were previously ineligible to receive the shots. Now, both Pfizer and Moderna are cleared for infants and toddlers.

Director of the Joint Interagency Task Force for COVID-19 James Hoyer said he expects West Virginia’s share of the vaccine shipment to be delivered by June 29.

He said there is significant public interest, with around 21 percent of parents actively interested in getting their young children vaccinated. Outreach plans are currently being made to boost interest and to help further educate parents.

State health officer Ayne Amjad said getting the vaccine is just as important for young children as it is for those who are older.

“Young people still get sick, they can end up in the hospital. So we encourage you to get vaccinated,” Amjad said. “Even if a child has had COVID-19 in the past, they should still get vaccinated as well.”

Vaccines for infants are available at pediatrician offices, local health departments, community health centers, hospitals and pharmacies. However, children under age 3 are restricted from getting the vaccine at pharmacies.

**Editor’s note: This story was edited to clarify the total amount of new vaccines being shipped.

Law Aims To Close W.Va.’s Food Insecurity Gap For Children

The hunger relief organization Feeding America says about one in five West Virginia children doesn’t have a consistent, reliable source of nutritious food.

A new initiative is designed to help close West Virginia’s food insecurity gap among children.

The hunger relief organization Feeding America says about one in five West Virginia children doesn’t have a consistent, reliable source of nutritious food.

Del. Chad Lovejoy, D-Cabell, said the gap hits children harder in some counties than others and can become severe away from the classroom.

“We have children, about one in five, who do not have a consistent, reliable source of nutritious food, particularly outside of the school system,” Lovejoy said. “There is hunger on weekends, summers, holidays, things like that. So that’s the gap.”

HB 3073 is the Emergency School Food Act. It sets up a statewide program to learn each county’s specific challenges and how they can better connect to the outside food sources available.

Lovejoy said centralizing the help needed to feed children will be a game changer

“We have counties that do this very well. And we have counties that don’t do it as well,” Lovejoy said. “And by centralizing the help, and developing toolkits at the state level, we’re going to be able to bring all the counties up to a kind of a base level, and then share best practices.”

Lovejoy said a crisis management plan in the act will provide innovative ways to deliver students food away from school – during a snow day or severe summer storms.

The program will be coordinated by West Virginia’s Office of Child Nutrition.

State Tax Donation Option Helps Deserving Children

The state tax form offers an opportunity to donate a portion of any refund to the West Virginia Children’s Trust Fund. The grant making organization funds child welfare programs statewide.

In the past fiscal year, the fund provided $300,000 to support local programs, awarded 42 Partners in Prevention grants and has registered more than 30 years of preventing child abuse and neglect across West Virginia.

Wood County’s Lisa Weaver is the program coordinator for the Midtown Family Resource Center at Children’s Home Society of West Virginia.

She said the programs throughout 55 counties range from child abuse prevention training and family meal plans to creating innovative school programming for underprivileged youth.

“We’ve helped to present the darkness to light curriculum, which is the sexual abuse prevention training program for community members,” Weaver said. “You can just use those funds in whatever your community sees as a need.”

To make a donation, you check the Children Trust Fund box on the state tax form. The money will come directly out of the tax refund. Find the options for an amount to contribute, and it will be taken out of any refund automatically.