Federal Grants Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

New Southern W.Va. Law Enforcement Grants Highlight Mental Health Issues And ‘Dementia Walkaways’

Several million dollars in U.S. Department of Justice grants, divided among various community law enforcement incentives and programs, are coming to communities in southern West Virginia.

Several million dollars in U.S. Department of Justice grants, divided among various community law enforcement incentives and programs, are coming to communities in southern West Virginia. The grants were announced by U.S. Attorney for West Virginia’s Southern District Will Thompson at a press conference in Huntington Tuesday.

The Huntington Police Department (HPD) is the biggest winner, receiving four grants totaling $1,872,620.

The “Kevin and Avonte Program” awards $150,000 to help reduce the injury and death of missing individuals with dementia by using locative technology to prevent wandering emergencies.

”Dementia walkaways” have become a persistent West Virginia problem and challenge. Huntington Police Chief Phil Watkins said his department will partner with local health care providers to identify individuals that are most suited for this program.

“We’re going to provide the locator technology, the actual equipment, as well as the software,” Watkins said. “The way that’s going to work is the clients, so to speak, who received this locative technology, their family and loved ones will have access the same as we do to the locator software, so the family can be checking along with the police.”

Titled the “Byrne Jag Earmark,” a $692,000 congressionally appropriated award from U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., will fund community policing endeavors for the Huntington Police Department. This will include the salaries of an additional Mental Health Liaison, Community Outreach Coordinators, tactical medicine training for surrounding agencies and more.

A Community Oriented Policing Grant of $380,620 will be used to expand HPD’s Crisis Intervention Team operations from a daytime schedule to evening and off-hour operations. HPD will use the funding for a full-time mental health worker and a part-time community outreach coordinator.

Watkins said it is vital for his officers to know how to deal with substance abuse disorders, mental health issues and often, the combination of both.

“The more information that our officers have,” Watkins said. “The better trained they are. That is so that they can identify the difference in behaviors and what they’re dealing with.”

The fourth Huntington initiative grants $650,000 to the Improving Adult & Youth Crisis Stabilization and Community Reentry Program. This award will fund the Huntington Police Department’s “Turn Around” program. This program will partner with Prestera Behavioral Health Care to send mental health case managers into Western Regional Jail to prepare inmates for their release back into society.

Thompson also announced several other southern West Virginia communities that received grants.

The Beckley Police Department received a $625,000 grant, the Mercer County Sheriff’s office received a $375,000 grant and the Logan County Sheriff’s office received a $573,261 grant to hire additional police officers.

The Mercer County Sheriff’s office received a $400,000 grant and the Wyoming County Sheriff’s department got a $300,000 grant for crisis intervention team development.

The Milton Police Department received a $63,000 grant for live scan fingerprint equipment and the Charleston Police Department is receiving a $750,000 grant for a training simulator.

State Charter Schools Receive Millions In Federal Grants

West Virginia charter schools will receive millions in federal funding over the next two years.

The West Virginia Professional Charter School Board (PCSB) was awarded more than $12 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Education’s Charter Schools Program. The PCSB was created in 2021 by House Bill 2012 to oversee charter schools in the state.

In announcing the grants during his administrative update briefing Friday, Gov. Jim Justice emphasized the importance of school choice.

“We absolutely moved forward by just putting our toe in the water and lo and behold, what does it tell us?” Justice said. “It tells us we should be listening to parents. It tells us absolutely that we should have HOPE Scholarship. It tells us over and over and over. We should give kids and parents a choice.”

West Virginia currently has five operating charter schools – three physical and two virtual – with two more authorized for fall 2024.

In its application, the charter school board said it will use the money to double the number of charter schools from seven to 14 and increase student achievement in all West Virginia public schools.

House Bill 2012 increased the number of brick-and-mortar charter schools authorized and in operation in the state from three to 10. The law also states that beginning July 1, 2023, and every three years thereafter, an additional 10 public charter schools may be authorized.

State Schools Eye Impact Of Government Shutdown

West Virginia schools rely on several federal grants, including child nutrition programs from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and special education funds from the U.S. Department of Education.

With the threat of a federal shutdown at the end of the week, the state’s schools are keeping an eye on the situation.

West Virginia schools rely on several federal grants, including child nutrition programs from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and special education funds from the U.S. Department of Education.

Melanie Purkey, the federal programs officer for the West Virginia Department of Education, oversees the grants for child nutrition, special education funds, and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act funding. She also works closely with colleagues in the career and technical office that receive federal funding.

Purkey said the programs work on a reimbursement process, with counties applying for reimbursement from the state who then request reimbursement at the federal level.

“Each fiscal year, we receive a grant award that is similar to a letter of credit from the federal government, and we have an allocation that says you have up to this much,” she said.

Purkey said that means the state has the ability to cover expenses for a time, but if the shutdown stretches into November there may begin to be cash flow issues.

“If we’re entering into November, we would start those conversations and anticipate that at month two or three, the counties and or the state would start to have some cash flow issues if we were covering these expenses,” she said. “I believe the state would probably try to cover county drawdowns from the state level until there was no more cash flow at the state that could float that.”

The 2018-2019 federal shutdown was the longest in U.S. history at 35 days. Purkey said during that time, reimbursement requests were still processed through the shutdown.

“The federal agencies do have the ability to keep essential staff on, and typically the people who process drawdowns are considered essential staff,” she said. “In past shutdowns of the federal government, we have not had any issue with drawdowns not being processed, because those agencies have considered those folks, essential staff.”

Over the past decade, there have already been three federal government shutdowns and Purkey said her office is familiar with the process.

“We’re not overly concerned, but Congress is very unpredictable,” she said. “We will just watch the news every day and see how they are coming with their negotiations, and hope that they can resolve whatever issues might get them into a shutdown quickly.”

Federal Health Care Funding Sent To Support Rural Centers, Scientific Research

The bulk of the money comes from the agency’s Health Center Cluster Grant Program, which helps support centers considered to be located in more rural areas.

More than $17 million in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) are going towards health care in West Virginia.

The bulk of the money comes from the agency’s Health Center Cluster Grant Program, which helps support centers considered to be located in more rural areas. A combined amount of more than $15 million will be sent to four centers around the state. These include:

$4,641,437 to Community Care of West Virginia in Rock Cave
$4,627,591 to Shenandoah Valley Medical System in Martinsburg
$3,364,164 to Community Health Systems in Beckley
$2,576,011 to New River Health Association in Scarbro

The same grant program also saw $2.4 million go towards Valley Health Care in Mill Creek and the Belington Community Medical Services Association late last month.

“As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I will continue advocating for resources to ensure every West Virginian across the Mountain State has the quality, affordable health services they need,” said U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., in a joint statement with U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va..

Both senators are members of the Senate Appropriations Committee, which writes legislation that sends federal funds to other government agencies.

Other health-related grants announced by the HHS include more than $1 million for the state Department of Health and Human Resources for STD prevention and control, nearly $800,000 towards Morgantown company IstoVisio for mental health research and $76,000 for West Virginia University for environmental health hazards research.

Three W.Va. Airports Receive $8.7 Million For Projects

West Virginia will receive more than $8.7 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for three airport projects.

The investment of federal dollars at airports in Lewisburg, Charleston and Huntington is expected to increase airport safety and efficiency for travelers and boost tourism and economic development across the state.

Greenbrier Valley Airport in Greenbrier County will receive the lion’s share of funds with more than $4.5 million for construction of a new building used to protect snow removal equipment during poor weather conditions.

Tri-State/Milton J. Ferguson Field Airport in Huntington was awarded $3.1 million for upgrades and repairs to existing runways and taxiways.

West Virginia International Yeager Airport in Charleston will receive more than $1 million to complete an environmental impact statement for a proposed runway safety project.

The money to support transportation hubs across the Mountain State is part of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Improvement Program.

Eligible projects relate to airport safety, capacity, security and environmental issues.

State Receives Millions In Federal Grants For Preparedness

Organizations across West Virginia will receive millions in federal grants for preparedness efforts.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Preparedness Grant Programs and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have awarded more than $24 million via 21 grants in the state.

The West Virginia Bureau for Public Health is the largest grant recipient with close to $16 million from FEMA.

The State Homeland Security Program provided the next-largest grant of nearly $5 million to the State of West Virginia.

The funding is designated to prepare against man-made threats and natural disasters, and reimburse costs accrued during the COVID-19 pandemic.