Lawmakers had questions Tuesday about a seven-year project to modernize West Virginia’s public assistance programs.
Lawmakers had questions Tuesday about a seven-year project to modernize West Virginia’s public assistance programs.
The program, called People’s Access To Help, or PATH, makes it easier for the public to access programs like Medicaid, food assistance and its child welfare system.
Secretary of the Department of Human Services (DoHS), Cynthia Persily testified during a meeting of the Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and Human Resources Accountability (LOCHHRA) about the cost and implementation of the program.
In 2017, West Virginia contracted with Optum to develop a system to help the agency efficiently manage public access.
The client portal became accessible in February 2020. According to Persily, the project’s progress remained consistent after the Child Welfare portion became operational in January 2023, streamlining data to support DoHS staff in investigating child welfare cases.
In April 2024, the Integrated Eligibility and Family Assistance service went live, followed by the Child Support services and Integrated Eligibility and Child Care services in July 2024.
These services allow West Virginians to determine and track their eligibility for assistance programs. They will also help DoHS staff manage child support workflows and process payments to providers who care for those with disabilities.
The base $308 million contract lasted six years, with optional one-year renewals for four years. Persily testified DoHS is in optional year two.
DoHS paid in portions as the vendor satisfactorily met benchmarks and has paid $103 million as of August 2024, Persily said. The federal portion is $89 million and $14 million is the state share.
“I suspect we’re going to get close to that amount in the design, development and implementation,” Persily said. “There are additional invoices, the additional benchmarks that were met.”
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families (ACF), West Virginia is the only state with an operational Comprehensive Child Welfare Information System (CCWIS).
However, Persily testified on Tuesday the WV PATH system needs to be certified by the federal government.
“Different agencies from the federal government will have to certify this system,” Persily said. “We are not yet certified, but we are in the process of doing that, and that’s just a part of the normal process.”
Persily said the project contract has moved from the “implementation stage” to the “management and operation stage,” which will be handled by a “reorganized Management Information Services (MIS) department” within the Office of Shared Administration.
“We are reorganizing so that our MIS system has much more ownership of this project and can assist us with a number of the different functions,” Persily said. “So that will be helpful that will lower our costs going forward when we have in-house expertise and not paying vendors.”
During questioning by Sen. Vince Deeds R-Greenbrier, Persily said DoHS will prepare a request for proposal (RFP) when the contract with Optum reaches its 10th year.
“We will constantly (need) updates, constantly need security, and so we will need a vendor to continue with the project,” Persily said. “It will depend on who responds and wins the RFP.”
Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Marshall Health.
In the aftermath of the death of 14-year-old Kyneddi Miller, who was found dead in a near skeletal state, officials and members of the media asked questions that went largely unanswered.
In the Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Resources Accountability, Department of Human Services (DoHS) Secretary Cynthia Persily said she is working with the attorney general’s office, legislators, academics, stakeholders, and similar departments in other states to come up with better policy.
“We met directly with four states that have model confidentiality legislation, as well as the University of Kentucky Center on Trauma and Children to inform the legislation,” Persily said.
At the time, she said federal law prevented the release of any personal information about a child. Others outside the department claimed an exception in the case of fatalities.
Persily said there is a thin line between transparency and jeopardizing the prosecution of a neglect and abuse case.
“We are very conscious of the fact that there is a balance between the public’s need to know and the ability to prosecute a child abuse and neglect case, and we would never want to interfere with that,” she said.
Vacancies in Child Protective Services dropped to 17 percent in January and have stayed at that level. Persily said this drop has helped the department hit target time frames for checking in on reported neglect and abuse.
Editor’s Note: This story was updated to reflect the correct percentage of vacancies in Child Protective Services.
Residents served by public assistance programs should have easier access to their eligibility status and streamlined services thanks to a new information technology system.
In 2017, West Virginia contracted with Optum to develop a system to help the agency efficiently manage programs like Medicaid, food assistance and its child welfare system.
The Department of Human Services (DoHS) announced the completed implementation of the West Virginia People’s Access to Help (WV PATH) system on Monday.
Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Human Services Cynthia Persily said in a press release the system will streamline internal processes and enhance the experience for every West Virginian who relies on their services.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families (ACF), West Virginia is currently the only state with an operational Comprehensive Child Welfare Information System (CCWIS).
In a “frequently asked questions” document, the ACF explained that switching from a Statewide Automated Child Welfare System to a CCWIS system will enable the agencies to share data between multiple systems instead of building one-size-fits-all applications. This flexibility will allow foster care agencies to tailor their information technology needs to align more closely to their unique program requirements.
The state transitioned its child welfare information system to WV PATH in January 2023. The public portal for WV PATH was launched in 2020 and can be accessed at www.wvpath.wv.gov.
Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Marshall Health.
A man being held at Sharpe Hospital asked the court to issue a default judgment against the Department of Human Services Secretary, Cynthia Persily.
Updated on Friay, July 26, 2024 at 11 a.m.
Attorneys representing a patient held at a state psychiatric facility filed a motion on Tuesday, July 23, 2024 asking the court to issue a default judgment against one of the Plaintiffs because they have not responded to the lawsuit within 60 days.
DRWV is the state’s federally mandated protection advocacy system for people with disabilities.
On Sept. 14, 2022, J.P. was removed from his residential housing for people with disabilities at a Westbrook facility and sent to Sharpe, a psychiatric facility under state operation, for allegedly attacking his roommate, an incident Tina Wiseman, former director of the Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification (OHFLAC) investigated and said in her report never happened.
J.P. is a young adult male with developmental disabilities and is mostly nonverbal. After less than a month at Sharpe, the hospital reported that Westbrook refused to accept J.P. if he were to be discharged. In that same report, the hospital questioned the original referral to Sharpe since the hospital had not observed the behavior from J.P. that was reported in the petition.
On Oct. 19, 2022, five days after Sharpe’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.
“J.P.’s case that we filed is the first of probably many cases that we’re going to be filing,” said Michael Folio, legal director of DRWV. “The crux of it is, is that there is a lack of continuum of care of services for individuals with developmental disabilities. In J.P,’s case, it’s even more egregious because we have a statement from the former OHFLAC director, who said that J.P,’s community-based provider actively and actually falsified his commitment paper to get him dumped and placed at Sharpe Hospital.”
The lawsuit aims to transfer J.P. to an appropriate community care home to treat his needs.
Abuse Inside The Hospital
According to the lawsuit, 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.
Sharpe CEO Patrick Ryan and Department of Health Facilities (DHF) Secretary Michael Caruso have stated that J.P. was not abused or assaulted.
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.
“Decompensation” is a breakdown in an individual’s defense mechanisms, resulting in progressive loss of normal functioning or worsening of psychiatric symptoms, according to the American Psychological Association.
A Lack Of Response
West Virginia code allows 60 days for government agencies to respond to petitions filed against them. The lawsuit was filed on May 8.
State law also prohibits default judgment against a state agency unless the court finds the government agency clearly intends to fail to appear, plead or otherwise defend in the action.
In a motion filed Tuesday, J.P.’s lawyers said more than 60 days have passed since the lawsuit was filed and that neither the Department of Human Services (DoHS) nor its Secretary, Cynthia Persily, have “made no known attempt to answer or respond.”
“It (default judgment) would just be against Cynthia Persily, in her capacity as secretary, because she’s the one who has the statutory duty to oversee it but would not be for the other defendants because they’ve actually appeared in the case,” Folio explained.
In an email response sent the morning of July 26, Whitney Wetzel, director of communications for DoHS said the department has retained counsel and will “vigorously defend this matter,” citing state code that protects the agency.
“The plaintiff’s motion was filed with the apparent goal of generating a headline as West Virginia law explicitly provides that default judgment may not be entered against a government agency unless the agency clearly intends to not defend the matter,” Wetzel wrote.
Sharpe CEO Patrick Ryan and Department of Health Facility (DHF) Secretary Michael Caruso were also named as defendants in the original lawsuit.
Folio said it is part of Persily’s responsibility as Secretary of the DoHS to manage contracts and payments for community-based providers in the state.
“The community-based provider won’t accept him and Secretary Persily won’t enforce the contract that requires the provider to accept him,” Folio said.
He said J.P.’s case is one example of providers in West Virginia being paid for services they are not providing.
“What we want to get out of this is a safe, appropriate placement for J.P. and others with developmental disabilities,” Folio said. “We have treatment records for multiple other individuals with developmental disabilities that say they’re at baseline, they’re ready to be discharged, but their community-based provider won’t take them back, and that becomes Secretary Persily’s responsibility.”
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with the West Virginia Department of Human Services’ response to West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s request for comment.
Kyneddi Miller was found dead in her home in April. A police report said the 14-year-old girl was found deceased in what a police report described as a “near skeleton state.” Her grandparents and mother have been charged with abuse and neglect. Now officials are pointing fingers at what organizations and policies created the crack that Miller fell through. There is also a rally planned for Wednesday morning by community members.
Kyneddi Miller was found dead in her home in April. A police report said the 14-year-old girl was found deceased in what a police report described as a “near skeletal state.” Her grandparents and mother have been charged with abuse and neglect.
Now officials are pointing fingers at what organizations and policies created the crack that Miller fell through. There is also a rally planned for Wednesday morning by community members.
There are conflicting reports about the actions of state agencies involved in the case. Police officers claimed they saw the now deceased girl nearly a year before her death. They say they were concerned about her wellbeing so they went to Boone County’s Child Protective Services to file a referral in person.
Officials with CPS, which is a division of the Department of Human Services, say they have no record of that.
But GPS data, police reports, and audio obtained from the police officer who visited Kyneddi in 2023, all corroborate the police officer’s claim that they went to CPS to make a referral.
Brian Abraham, the governor’s chief of staff, said he interviewed the police officers and has come to the conclusion that they did visit CPS, but that the officers may have not followed the proper protocol.
“Based upon that information the troopers relayed to me, with cooperating evidence, I am with 100 percent certainty that they were present that day at the office and made an informal communication with the department,” Abraham said.
(left to right) Chief of Staff Brian Abraham, West Virginia Department of Human Services Secretary Dr. Cynthia Persily, West Virginia State Superintendent of Schools Michele Blatt, and West Virginia State Police Chief of Staff Maj. James Mitchell.
Courtesy of WV Governor’s Office
Department of Human Services Secretary Cynthia Persily said the police should have called a 1-800 number to officially make a report,instead of going to CPS and speaking with staff directly.
“So consequently, we won’t get into the situation where we have someone who says that they made a report, or a referral, or whatever we want to call it, of abuse and neglect without that actually happening,” Persily said.
A Call For Home School Reform
Police are mandatory reporters of abuse, meaning if they see abuse they have to report it. So are teachers, but because Miller had been pulled from school, teachers no longer had access to her.
Now many lawmakers, agency heads, and the governor are calling for changes to home school laws in the state.
They say public school classrooms are often where child abuse is discovered and have attributed Miller’s homeschooling status a factor in her death.
The pre pandemic national rate for home schooling is around 3 percent. A study in the Journal of Adolescent trauma notes that children are homeschooled in nearly half of all child abuse cases.
West Virginia State Superintendent of Schools Michele Blatt said she would like to strengthen homeschool requirements.
“The West Virginia Department of Education is eager to work with the legislature to really see how we can strengthen the guardrails around our homeschool reporting requirements,” Blatt said. “While we know that we have a great deal of homeschool parents that do things the right way and take care of their kids and it’s the best choice for those families, I think that our 7,000 foster kids in the system is proof that not all parents do what’s best for their children.”
The House passed Raylee’s law after hours of debate. It was never taken up by the Senate.
Perry Bennett/West Virginia Legislature Photography
Delegate Shawn Fluharty has been a proponent of homeschool policy reform ever since he received a call about a young girl in his district, Raylee Browning in 2018.
“I was contacted by her former teacher Carrie Caliberty years ago, about the situation with Raylee who was taken from a public school while a CPS report was being investigated by her abusive father,” Fluharty said. “And months later, Raylee was found dead in the home.”
He said Kyneddi Miller’s story is eerily similar. Fluharty wants to change the oversight laws for homeschooling in the state.
“We’re just saying this process of removing a child needs to be vetted properly,” Fluharty said. “And if there’s a mere hindrance, on the time period of removing a child from public school, to homeschool, so that we know that child is safe, then too damn bad!”
School Choice Advocates Push Back
On the other side of the debate, Advocates of school choice are saying that home schooling has become a scapegoat for other systemic failures.
Sen. Patricia Rucker, a Republican from Jefferson County, is a staunch advocate for home schooling and the chair of the newly created School Choice Committee in the State Senate. She said there were missed opportunities to intervene in the child’s life before she died.
“It is really interesting to me that this entire story is focusing on the fact that they put in a Notice of Intent (for homeschooling),” Rucker said. “Even though this is a family that had not been in a public school for over two years, and had already broken the law and already should have thrown red flags before they ever even put in their application.”
Sen. Patricia Rucker, R-Jefferson, is a home schoolteacher to her five children.
Will Price/WV Legislative Photography
Prior to homeschooling Miller was truant for an extended period. Then after two years of homeschooling her mother had failed to complete the required academic assessment. And the school failed to take action.
There are existing laws that require the school to follow up on a student who has failed to complete an academic assessment. However, those laws lack mandatory enforcement mechanisms.
Change Needed
Rucker said that there are multiple other factors that contributed to the girl’s death, including an overloaded and under-funded CPS system.
“There were clearly many, many ways in which folks dropped the ball. Home schooling was not the way that we might have been able to save this young girl,” Rucker said.
Multiple bills that would address CPS, absenteeism in schools, and child welfare in the state were introduced to the floor. None of those bills made it across the finish line in April.
“It’s very concerning to me that no one in current leadership is taking any responsibility for any of the things that have happened, or failed to happen,” Rucker said. “If we’re gonna have a system that the people of West Virginia are going to have faith in, it means that if things go wrong that someone needs to tell them what went wrong, and take responsibility, and say how they’re going to change it.”
Brian Abraham, the governor’s chief of staff, said it’s going to be up to policy makers to craft laws that balance protecting vulnerable children while also protecting West Virginians’ right to home school their children.
“The governor wholeheartedly supports school choice and the parents’ right to choose homeschool,” Abraham said. “But, you know, we can see it has potential ramifications. It’s a trade off. We have to find the sweet spot.”
On Wednesday, June 19 at 9 a.m. at the Boone County Courthouse there is a rally for accountability and action. The rally was planned by the group “Parents Against Child Abuse.”
Kyneddi Miller was found dead in her Boone County home in April. A police report said the 14-year-old girl was found in a near skeletal state. Her grandparents and mother have been charged with abuse and neglect.
Kyneddi Miller was found dead in her Boone County home in April. A police report said the 14-year-old girl was found in a near skeletal state. Her grandparents and mother have been charged with abuse and neglect.
Recently, there have been conflicting reports about the actions of state agencies involved in the case and calls for accountability.
Police officers claimed they saw the now deceased Miller nearly a year before her death. They say they were concerned about the girl’s well being, so they went to Boone County’s Child Protective Services office to file a referral. However, CPS, which is a division of the Department of Human Services, says they have no record of that.
GPS data, police reports, and audio obtained from the police officer who visited Kyneddi in 2023, all corroborate the police officer’s claim that they went to CPS to make a referral after completing a welfare check on the child.
Brian Abraham, the governor’s chief of staff, said he interviewed the police officers and has come to the conclusion that they did visit CPS, but that the officers may have not followed the proper protocol.
“I believe the evidence established through both GPS and the testimony of those two troopers to me, that they did in fact go to the Department of Health or Human Services,” Abraham said. “(When) they went there, there was informal contact with the caseworkers. They relayed the information to those caseworkers not intending to make any sort of formal referral of any accusation of abuse or neglect.”
He says the officers wanted to notify CPS workers that the child had an exaggerated fear of COVID-19 that was preventing her from leaving the home.
Department of Human Services Secretary Cynthia Persily said the police should have called a 1-800 number to officially make a report, instead of going to CPS and speaking with staff directly. She says moving forward the agency will assist those wanting to make a child abuse or neglect referral.
“So consequently, we won’t get into the situation where we have someone who says that they made a report or a referral, or whatever we want to call it, of abuse and neglect without that actually happening,” Persily said.
Some lawmakers and child safety advocates say classrooms are often where child abuse is discovered and have attributed Miller’s homeschooling status a factor in her death. West Virginia State Superintendent of Schools Michele Blatt says she would like to strengthen homeschool requirements.
“The West Virginia Department of Education is eager to work with the legislature to really see how we can strengthen the guardrails around our homeschool reporting requirements,” Blatt said. “While we know that we have a great deal of homeschool parents that do things the right way and take care of their kids and it’s the best choice for those families, I think that our 7,000 foster kids in the system is proof that not all parents do what’s best for their children.”
Abraham said it’s up to policy makers to craft laws to keep these things from happening while protecting West Virginians’ right to home school their children.
“The governor wholeheartedly supports school choice and the parents’ right to choose homeschool. But, you know, we can see it has potential ramifications,” Abraham said. “It’s a tradeoff, we have to find the sweet spot.”
Multiple members from the House of Delegates attended the press conference. They asked questions and took notes. Senate President Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, said in an emailed statement he is eager to work with the House to pass legislation to prevent this from happening again.
“As legislators, we have an obligation to protect our most vulnerable citizens, especially our children,” Blair said in the statement. “This case has highlighted that our current system of checks and balances has cracks. To that end, we will work with the Governor’s Office, the Department of Education, the Department of Human Services, and the State Police to discuss ways that we, legislatively, can improve our regulations related to homeschooled children to ensure that no children suffer this same outcome.”
