HARRISVILLE – A circuit judge has ordered state officials to serve as child protective services workers because of extreme CPS understaffing issues.
Ritchie Circuit Judge Timothy L. Sweeney issued his order February 3.
“Understaffing is an immediate and critical threat to at-risk children, the most vulnerable residents of this circuit and state.” Sweeney wrote in the order. “Cases involving juveniles are the highest priority for the judiciary in the State of West Virginia.”
Sweeney
| File photo
Some of those who would be required to follow the order and report to work in the four-county Third Judicial Circuit are new Department of Human Services Secretary Alex Mayer, interim Deputy Commissioner of Field Operations Laurea Ellis, General Counsel Chanin Krivonyak, Deputy Commissioner of Policy and Programs Lorie Bragg Lawrence and Special Consultant to the Secretary Kim Ricketts.
Sweeney’s order says those individuals are ordered to appear personally, under penalty of contempt, at 9 a.m. on February 20 at the Ritchie County Courthouse to receive their case assignments.
While he says the issues have been present for a long time, Sweeney told The West Virginia Record a recent case showed him just how critical the staffing situation was.
“The local department folks are way, way understaffed,” he said. “They’re just really incapable of, in my opinion, doing what they needed to do to do their jobs of protecting children, particularly from abuse and neglect. We had a situation where people had caseloads way in excess of the recommended loads.
“People in supervisory positions are doing the work of CPS workers. They’re going out and investigating, doing removals and such, at the expense of their administrative duties. And that affects the system and the cases as well.”
Sweeney said it just seems to be a more extreme situation right now.
“It’s been going on for years,” he said. “It culminated last year when the Legislature split it (the Department of Health & Human Resources) up with the belief it was going to make it better. It has reached a point where it needed done, and someone needed to do something to fix it.”
Sweeney’s circuit includes Pleasants, Doddridge, Ritchie and Wirt counties.
Sweeney said the DoHS’ Child Welfare Dashboard shows there are a combined five CPS workers, one CPS senior worker and one CPS coordinator for Doddridge, Pleasants and Ritchie counties. For Lewis and Upshur counties, there is only one CPS worker.
“Our department that does these counties in my circuit also does Upshur and Lewis counties,” Sweeney said. “They have one CPS worker and five vacancies. The reason that affects me is that I’ve got people from the department covering my counties over there covering those counties.
“While I don’t have direct authority over them, it directly affects me. I’m bleeding resources to these other counties, and it has a snowball effect. It affects everyone eventually.”
On February 5, new Gov. Patrick Morrisey commented on social media about Sweeney’s order.
“One of the reasons we brought on our new secretary (Mayer) is to focus on foster care and CPS,” Morrisey posted on X with a link to a Parkersburg News and Sentinel story about the order. “We are working to clean up all of the mess. Very hopeful our team will make a difference.”
On February 3, Mayer issued a statement when he officially joined Morrisey’s cabinet saying he’s eager to get to work.
“I am honored to join the West Virginia Department of Human Services and contribute to the continued success of this vital agency,” Mayer said. “I look forward to working alongside dedicated professionals to improve the well-being of West Virginians, with a special focus on supporting our most vulnerable populations.”
Mayer previously was chief of Children and Family Services for the South Dakota Department of Social Services. He’s a U.S. Army veteran and has more than a dozen years of experience in health and human services.
Sweeney said he hopes Mayer succeeds in his new position.
“He looks like he’s well qualified,” the judge said of Mayer. “I’m looking forward to talking to him and meeting with him to move this along. And it’s great that the governor wants to fix this as well.”
Sweeney also noted the 2019 federal trial regarding the state’s foster care system has been delayed until May for the new Morrisey administration to get settled.
“Foster care in West Virginia is at a critical stage,” Sweeney said. “Listen, all I want to do is get some attention for this issue. I don’t care if it’s the Legislature that needs to spend money, the department that needs to spend money to hire more workers or train them faster or whatever it may be. It really starts with the governor and goes all the way down to the local departments.
“And, other judges from across the state have been interested in my order. It’s not as bad in Kanawha County and other larger counties as it is in rural counties. But, as we all know, most of West Virginia is rural. This is a major problem.
“But, it’s nothing new. I just want to bring some attention to a situation that’s been ongoing and, in my particular sphere, it’s to a point where it’s really critical. I’m not trying to be snarky or difficult or heavy-handed. I’m just trying to get the attention of the people who can remedy this in hopes of doing it as soon as possible.”