Federal Funding Story Archives - Page 2 of 10 - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Funding, Health Department Reorganization Challenge IG’s Office

Speaking to the Joint Committee on Health during the last legislative interim meetings for the year, Interim Inspector General for the Departments of Health, Human Services, and Health Facilities Ann Urling said budget cuts have kept her office at a 40 percent vacancy rate for staff positions.

“The budget reallocation process has stripped the Office of the Inspector General’s budget of the necessary resources to make meaningful hires and get individuals that possess the required expertise, experience and qualifications,” Urling said. “This cycle of under-funding perpetuates our staffing shortages and hinders the overall productivity and effectiveness of the Office of the Inspector General.”

Urling said the office has also faced issues since splitting from the Department of Health and Human Resources earlier this year, especially around accessing federal funding. Urling broke down the office’s “braided funding model,” which involves multiple streams of income from state and federal sources – a model that Urling said can be difficult to track.

After Urling said she submitted funding for acquiring new vehicles, since many employees need to travel the state for their work, her paperwork was unexpectedly rescinded.

“I couldn’t get a clear explanation other than federal dollars are complicated, and there’s a lot of nuances to it,” Urling said.

The office’s role is to provide oversight on the health programs, now spread across three departments. It is responsible for fraud, waste, neglect, and abuse investigations. These include managing roles like the Foster Care Ombudsmen and SNAP and TANF investigations. Urling says she needs more staff to fulfill that work.

“We shouldn’t just be giving money and giving money, because that’s what we’ve always done,” Urling said.

She also asked the legislature and governor to delegate auditing power to the office.

“If the legislature and the executive branch want to have effective oversight over these important programs, I’d suggest we evaluate what we’re doing here,” Ursling said.

For submitted complaints, Urling called for resources to revamp the office’s system to be able to track when and how complaints are submitted and addressed. Currently, the office does not monitor these complaints in a central database, which Urling said leads to issues like people sending complaints via faxes that “don’t always necessarily get through.”

For those looking to report a complaint, the Inspector General for the Departments of Health, Human Services, and Health Facilities’ phone number is (304) 558-2278.

FAA Awards $7 Million For Statewide Airport Improvements

Of the $7 million, $6.5 million is reserved for the Greenbrier Valley Regional Airport’s 7,000-foot runway.

Several West Virginia airports will receive federal funds to make infrastructure improvements.

A runway rehabilitation in Lewisburg. Perimeter fencing in Williamson. A retaining wall in Charleston. A rotating beacon in Buckhannon.

These are some of the planned improvements to airports in West Virginia, funded with $7 million in Airport Improvement Grants from the Federal Aviation Administration.

The FAA awarded nearly $500 million to airports across the country this year to improve runways, airfields and airport facilities.

The funds come from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, which is supported by passenger fees and aviation fuel taxes.

Of the $7 million, $6.5 million is reserved for the Greenbrier Valley Regional Airport’s 7,000-foot runway. Eight other airports will receive the balance.

Three Projects At Fairmont State University To Receive Federal Funding

Fairmont State University will receive close to $7 million from several federal agencies for three improvement projects on campus.

Fairmont State University (FSU) will receive $6,890,000 from several federal agencies for three improvement projects on campus.

“Receiving federal funding for these projects will have a tremendous impact on campus,” said Christy Burner, director of Grants and Sponsored Programs at FSU. “These appropriations will go directly towards improving essential educational facilities, enhancing campus security, and providing our students with the learning environment they need to achieve excellence.”

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will provide $3 million for the relocation and expansion of the College of Nursing’s Simulation Center. FSU aims to help address the vacancy rate of licensed professional nurses, which is reaching 20 percent.

HRSA is the primary federal agency for improving access to health care services for people who are uninsured, isolated or medically vulnerable.

An additional $2.1 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will spur the first phase of renovations to the Ruth Ann Musick Library.

The remaining $1.7 million from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Byrne Discretionary Grant Program will be put towards campus security system upgrades, including shifting to exclusively card access of interior and exterior doors in residence halls.

Marshall, WVU Receive Funding To Support Student Success

The National Science Foundation has awarded West Virginia’s two largest universities funds to improve student success.

The National Science Foundation has awarded West Virginia’s two largest universities $656,814 for research initiatives to improve student success.

Marshall University will receive $352,310 for a ten-week interactive research program to engage STEM students with career workshops and hands-on learning opportunities.

The rest of the funds -$304,504 – will support research at West Virginia University to assess obstacles faced by socioeconomically disadvantaged graduate students and the effect that these disadvantages have on student retention.

The National Science Foundation was established in 1950 by Congress to promote the progress of science and according to their website, their grants account for about 25 percent of federal support to America’s colleges and universities for basic research.

W.Va. Principals Advocate For Federal Funds At Nation’s Capitol

Hundreds of educational leaders from across the country were in the nation’s capital Wednesday to advocate for more support to address the mental health and educator shortage crises.

Hundreds of educational leaders from across the country were in the nation’s capital Wednesday to advocate for more support to address the mental health and educator shortage crises. Principals and administrators urged Congress to prioritize educational spending in current budget negotiations as part of the National Conference on School Leadership.

John Conrad, principal of Westwood Middle School in Morgantown, and Wheeling Park High School Principal Meredith Dailer spent the morning meeting with the staff of West Virginia’s Congressional delegation.

Conrad said schools in West Virginia rely on a myriad of federal funds to function.

“People are very familiar with Title I, but also Title II and Title IV and IDEA state grants,” he said. “We’re just hoping that they at least keep the level of funding.”

Conrad said staffers don’t hear from educators and principals enough, and being able to make personal contact goes a long way. He was able to meet with Sen. Joe Manchin directly and urged him to support specific legislation to address mental health and staffing issues in schools.

“We talked a lot about educator shortages and the principal pipeline, and what we can do to get people into the profession, become an educator, and then stay in the profession,” he said. “We talked about the Loan Forgiveness for Educators Act, and how we can utilize that to attract people and to stay in the field of education.”

Revitalization Of Communities Is EPA’s Focus In State, Ortiz Says

Adam Ortiz, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator for Region 3, says the EPA has invested half a billion dollars in West Virginia during the Biden presidency.

State and local environmental advocates welcomed a special guest to the Capitol Tuesday for E-Day.

Adam Ortiz, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator for Region 3, which includes West Virginia, came to the Capitol to speak to lawmakers and advocacy groups.

Ortiz says the EPA has invested half a billion dollars in West Virginia during the Biden presidency. That money has gone to improving water and wastewater systems and cleaning up abandoned coal mines and industrial sites.

“It’s not just cleaning up the stuff in the past but preparing this infrastructure for the future. So, it’s hard to attract a hotel to a community if you don’t have strong water systems, both drinking water and wastewater. So, we’re partnering with localities partnering with the state because we want to help West Virginia open its next chapter revitalization and you know, cleaning up the old stuff as part of that process.”

Ortiz says West Virginia has the infrastructure and the workforce to support its economic future. He says the EPA’s role is to help the state clean up the legacy pollution of its historical mining and industry.

“So our focus at EPA working with the state is on revitalization, taking a lot of these abandoned mine areas, as well as brownfields. And it wasn’t just coal production here, but also lots of chemicals and companies that are long gone. And often these sites, these properties are right in the middle of, you know, great old towns and cities, they’re connected to the water, they’re connected to the rail. So our job is to help the state clean them up and get them back online economically.”

Ortiz also praised the young people who came to the Capitol to speak out on environmental issues and share their ideas with lawmakers.

“So we’re really cheering on the young people, the universities and the schools for their environmental programs, because they’re going to have the baton before too long.”