DHHR Officially Split Into Three Departments

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources has been split into three separate departments following the passage of a bill to split the agency passed last year.

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources has been split into three separate departments following the passage of a bill to split the agency last year. 

The DHHR has long been troubled but has come under fire in recent years for staffing shortages and other problems, compromising the care provided to children in the foster care system or those living in state hospitals.

Following an investigation and the filing of a class action lawsuit, in 2023, the Legislature decided to split up the agency. House Bill 2006 was signed into law by Gov. Jim Justice on March 6, 2023.

These departments are the Department of Human Services, run by Secretary Cynthia Persily, the Department of Health, run by Secretary Dr. Sherri Young, and the Department of Health Facilities, run by Secretary Michael Caruso.

Gov. Jim Justice congratulated the new secretaries and expressed hope for positive change in the agencies.

“Now, it is three differences in three different secretaries, three different departments,” Justice said. “With all that being said, we want to, we want to welcome the change, we want to hope, like crazy that this makes things better.”

Justice also noted how much money flows through the agency, more than twice the amount of the entire state’s annual budget. 

“There’s so much money that’s flowing in and out of DHHR,” Justice said. “It’s unbelievable. And therefore, maybe this will just make us better.”

For fiscal year 2024, the DHHR presented a budget of more than $7.5 billion, with 75 percent of that being federal funding.

The legislature attempted to split the agency up in 2022, but that bill was vetoed by Justice.

The bill takes effect in May, but the new departments were required to be in place by Jan. 1, 2024.

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

W.Va. Healthcare Services To Benefit From Federal Dollars

The money will be used to make improvements to public health infrastructure, improve maternal and child health services statewide, and support local health centers in Monroe County.

Nearly $4 million in federal funding has been awarded to West Virginia healthcare services. 

U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, D-WV, announced $3.9 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to strengthen healthcare services throughout the state.

The money will be used to make improvements to public health infrastructure, improve maternal and child health services statewide, and support local health centers in Monroe County.

Individual awards to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources include:

$1.5 million to bolster public health infrastructure.  This includes workforce development and support facilities.

$1.3 million to support maternal and child health services statewide.

Another $1 million was set aside for the Monroe County Health Department to support the county’s local health centers.

Fish In Central Appalachia And The Looming DHHR Split, This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, a new book by fisheries research scientist and West Virginia University (WVU) professor Stuart Welsh showcases some of the lesser-known kinds of fish in central Appalachia. Bill Lynch spoke with Welsh about his book Hornyheads, Madtoms and Darters.

On this West Virginia Morning, a new book by fisheries research scientist and West Virginia University (WVU) professor Stuart Welsh showcases some of the lesser-known kinds of fish in central Appalachia. Bill Lynch spoke with Welsh about his book Hornyheads, Madtoms and Darters.

Also, in this show, as the deadline to split the state agency looms, lawmakers discussed the possibility of overlap in West Virginia’s newly reorganized Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR). Emily Rice has more.

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.

Caroline MacGregor is our assistant news director and 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

Lawmakers Fear Overlap In Newly Separated DHHR

The Office of Shared Administration will operate the newly separated West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources starting Jan. 1 during a meeting of the Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and Human Resources Accountability.

The Department of Human Resources touches the lives of many West Virginians in one way or another. But the legislature determined that it was too large to be effective and split it into three departments: the Department of Human Services, run by Secretary Cynthia Persily, the Department of Health, run by Secretary Dr. Sherri Young, and the Department of Health Facilities, run by Secretary Michael Caruso.

The split takes effect on Jan. 1, 2024. The Office of Shared Administration consists of the three secretaries and heads the new organization.

These three departments will share six offices: the Office of Finance, the Office of Human Resources Management, the Office of Constituent Services, the Office of Communications, the Office of Operations and the Office of Management Information Services.

Young presented a “bird’s eye” view of the organization of the Department of Administration during a meeting of the Legislative Oversight Commission On Health and Human Resources Accountability (LOCHHRA) on Monday. 

“This will be the last time that I address you as the interim secretary for DHHR,” Young said. “And in 20, short days, we will be the three departments that we have envisioned working towards.”

She said she anticipated a question and answer session between lawmakers and the heads of each of the six offices shared by the Department of Shared Administration and hoped it would quell lawmakers’ fears about overlap.

“They’re there to tell the story about what they do on a daily basis because it is truly immense the people that they serve and the programs that they cover,” Young said.

Del. Amy Summers, R-Taylor, asked Young if this new system was more efficient than past models.

“It’s very similar,” Young said. “And so when you’ve looked at the reporting structure, there could be some problems with having to go into the three departments. People have adjusted very well.”

Young began her presentation by explaining the Office of Finance, stating that 87 individuals work under Tara Buckner, chief financial officer. She said they oversee planning, coordinating, safeguarding and overseeing the daily financial operations.

Next, Young spoke about the Office of Human Resource Management under Chief Human Resources Officer, Angie Ferris.

“They are managing the benefits and payroll for 5,439 folks across DHHR,” Young said. “That takes about 76 folks.”

Young said the Office of Operations has 32 of 37 vacancies filled. She said this department, operated by George Montgomery, is responsible for the upkeep and management of the state’s health facilities, along with fleet management.

“They manage everything for real estate, making sure that the maintenance and warehouse and any new construction that you have, that these are getting executed as well as the large contracts to complete this work,” Young said. 

The Office of Operations also takes care of the mail system within DHHR.

“The amount of mail that goes through that mail system, within a year we get on average 350 to 400 pieces of mail per day, and a staggering 90,000 to 105,000 pieces of mail passing through that office in the bottom of the Diamond building every year,” Young said. 

Next, Young explained the structure of the Office of Communications, which contains five workers, two of whom are. Jessica Holstein and Whitney Wetzel. Both are listed as directors.

“We did name two directors so that we would have subject matter experts dealing with the Office of Human Services and then splitting the duties for the Department of Health and the Department of Health Facilities,” Young said.

According to Young, the Office of Constituent Services, directed by John Lopez, connects people with questions about their benefits with people who can help them within the agency.

“For 2021, they had 222,218 calls,” Young said. “For 2022, they had 222,336 calls, of which they answered and assisted folks. So far in 2023, they have had 434,385 calls as of last week. And we’re not quite to the finish line.”

Lastly, Young said that the Office of Management Information Services, directed by Chief Information Officer Shaun Charles, has 134 workers with 18 vacancies.

“They have the West Virginia ed(ucation) system, they support Bureau Medical Services data, both for verification and quality,” Young said. “But they also build and maintain internal and external dashboards.”

Young said she looked forward to letting the heads of the six offices explain their roles to lawmakers on Friday.

Other Action

The commission also considered four draft bills and unanimously passed them to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance for consideration during the regular session.

The first bill would remove “DHHR” from all state code, in line with the restructuring of the department.

The second bill removes a “drop dead date” placed in code which ended the authority of the department to keep foster care and managed care under Aetna management.

The third bill expands upon LOCHHRA’s own power, by allowing them to go into executive session in order to hear information from the departments of health, health facilities, and human services that is not able to be shared publicly.

Additionally, this draft bill would allow LOCHHRA to carry out performance evaluations of the departments.

The final draft bill creates a new chapter for the Office of the Inspector General to enhance its independence and takes the programs that are under the Office of the Inspector General and places those existing programs under the Inspector General. 

Attorneys for the legislature called the bill a “reorganization and cleanup.”

The commission moved that all four bills be reported to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance with the recommendation that they will be introduced during the next regular session of the legislature.

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

Anti-abortion Coalition Awarded $1 Million Grant For Pregnancy Support Centers

The program was conceived by the GOP-dominated state legislature following passage of the state’s near-total ban on abortion last year. When the U.S. Supreme Court ended constitutional protections for abortion in 2022, West Virginia was one of several states to approve millions in taxpayer funding for anti-abortion centers.

A coalition that supports anti-abortion pregnancy centers has been awarded a $1 million grant from the state. The money will be distributed to organizations that discourage women from ending their pregnancies. 

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources selected the West Virginia Pregnancy Center Coalition to manage the new West Virginia Mothers and Babies Support Program.

The program was conceived by the GOP-dominated state legislature following passage of the state’s near-total ban on abortion last year. When the U.S. Supreme Court ended constitutional protections for abortion in 2022, West Virginia was one of several states to approve millions in taxpayer funding for anti-abortion centers.

Commonly referred to as pregnancy resources, or crisis pregnancy centers, the facilities do not provide medical services such as pre- or post-natal care for uninsured women. 

West Virginia State Health Officer Dr. Matthew Christiansen said the program will provide pregnancy support in the form of “medical care, parenting and life-skills education, financial assistance, baby supplies and other material assistance.”

The coalition by law must establish qualification requirements for organizations to be considered eligible to receive funding. Organizations must be nonprofits that provide training and annual evaluations for employees and volunteers and maintain policies for reporting child abuse, medical emergencies and client complaints.

Anti-abortion pregnancy centers, maternity homes, adoption agencies and “life-affirming social service organizations” are eligible to apply for money.

Organizations that “perform, prescribe, refer for, advocate for, or encourage abortion” or are affiliated with such organizations, are prohibited from receiving the grant money which is funded by taxpayers.

Department Of Health And Human Resources To Change Family Assistance Eligibility Systems

Residents in Clay, Hardy, Kanawha, Mercer, Mingo, and Randolph counties that participate in family assistance programs will become part of a pilot program beginning Monday, according to the Department of Health and Human Resources.

Residents in Clay, Hardy, Kanawha, Mercer, Mingo, and Randolph counties that participate in family assistance programs will become part of a pilot program beginning Monday, according to the Department of Health and Human Resources.

Residents who receive benefits from assistance programs will begin the transition to a new system. They will be moving from the RAPIDS system to WV PATH. DHHR programs supported by the new WV PATH include:  Medicaid, West Virginia Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and other state-operated assistance programs. A statewide transition is slated for spring of 2024. 

The transition will not impact the way residents apply for assistance programs. This switch will allow DHHR to receive a better funding match of 90 percent of federal dollars to 10 percent of state dollars. 

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