CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Over protests, the Senate Judiciary Committee pulled the funding out of a foster care bill aimed at increasing payments to families who take in children.
That was before the bill even got to the Senate Finance Committee, which is supposed to make decisions about money.
“I’m very frustrated that we don’t find the money for what seems to me to be the most important thing,” said Senator Mike Woelfel, D-Cabell.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles Trump, R-Morgan, concluded a long Tuesday evening meeting by saying he hopes the Finance Committee can find the funding to increase state support for foster families.
“We’ll hope for the best as this bill moves to the Committee on Finance,” Trump said.
“We don’t know what may be possible for the Finance Committee to do, but I think we can all agree in a bipartisan fashion in finding funding to help this system, whatever funding.”
West Virginia’s foster care system has been growing at an alarming rate, related to the state’s struggles with drug addiction.
More than 7,000 children are in state custody. About 450 of those are out of state, mostly in group residential homes or long-term psychiatric facilities.
House Bill 4092 was a broad-ranging bill enumerating certain rights for foster families and providing greater detail for the duties of guardians ad litem, who officially speak on behalf of children.
Originally, it increased the per diem for foster families while also establishing an equivalent rate for kinship families — those who have taken in a child but who haven’t gone through certification.
Under the bill, families fostering through DHHR would be paid at least $900 per month per child placed in their home, or about $30 a day — an increase of about $300 per month. The reimbursement rate for kinship families would be raised to an equivalent amount.
The state’s share of the cost was estimated to be about $16.9 million.
All that was pulled from the bill behind the scenes before it even hit the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The committee discussed the bill for several hours on Tuesday evening before a majority of members approved proposed changes.
The newly-shaped version of the bill says the state Department of Health and Human Resources must expand a tiered system that provides more financial support for families who take in children considered more challenging.
The Senate Judiciary version of the bill allocates $4 million to do that.
And, DHHR would have to create a pilot program to raise state payments to kinship parents — family members who haven’t gone through the certification process to be foster parents.
Delegate Jeffrey Pack, R-Raleigh, vice chairman of the House Health Committee, testified on Tuesday evening before Senate Judiciary.
Pack said the earlier bill was shaped for months to encourage more families to take in West Virginia’s hundreds of foster children. He expressed concern about the changes.
“I would suggest that I’m not certain the product before you necessarily addresses the problem in an effective fashion,” Pack told senators.
A bipartisan group of delegates with the House Health Committee had earlier expressed concern about changes, sending a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The letter specifically asked for the original funding section of the bill to be restored.
“This issue is under the purview of the Senate Finance Committee, and we would request the language remain intact until it is addressed by that committee,” the delegates wrote in the letter.
Senator Stephen Baldwin, D-Greenbrier, raised that same point during the Senate Judiciary Committee meeting.
“I don’t remember this ever happening. Do you remember this ever happening where we would remove a major piece of funding?” Baldwin asked.
“We’ve actually changed the financial piece of this bill before it goes to Finance.”
Senator Mike Romano, D-Harrison, was even more critical.
“We ought to be embarrassed,” Romano said. “This bill has already gone through House Finance. Maybe we don’t think they’re competent. Yet we’re going to take the funding for these children out of the bill. We should not be responsible for taking the funding away.”
Senator Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, the vice chairman of Judiciary, said the committee should not make specific calls about dollar amounts but said its authority extends to funding structures.
“It is well within the purview of the Judiciary Committee to set priorities for funding. But what I don’t think is within Judiciary’s purview is coming up with the amount,” Weld said.
Some leaders of the Department of Health and Human Resources spoke about the bill.
Linda Watts, commissioner of the Bureau for Children and Families, said the agency needs to be able to provide more financial support for families who take in children considered more challenging. So, generally, she favors the tier system.
“Families are willing to take older children, but they need a little bit more money to do that,” she said. “What we need to find is ways to build capacity to serve that older child.”
She wasn’t sure the House bill accomplishes that goal.
“I’m not against an increase,” Watts said. “I’m not sure the amount that as set will get us the services we need for the older kids.”
Jeremiah Samples, the deputy director for DHHR, said the agency had already asked for an additional $14 million to move forward with the tiered system. So far, he said, that’s still reflected in the state budget proposal.
“We believe we can absorb the direct payments to foster parents envisioned in the House version of this bill,” Samples said.
Woelfel asked why those goals would be mutually exclusive. He suggested the Legislature should identify the funding to increase the base payments to families while also providing incentives for those who take in challenging children.
As the committee voted down an amendment to restore the original funding passed by the House, Senator Paul Hardesty, said he is embarrassed.
“This is the first time that I feel like we as a body failed. It’s a right versus wrong amendment for kids,” Hardesty said. “I can’t comprehend that.”