CHARLESTON, W.Va. — State health officials say the biggest challenge with reunifying children in the foster care system with their birth parents has been impacted by the ongoing drug epidemic.
Jeffrey Pack, commissioner of the state Department of Health and Human Resources’ Bureau for Social Services, said they’re marking National Reunification Month this June by applauding foster parents who step up to take care of children in need.
Pack said a parent who has drug addiction makes it more difficult for the state to provide a child with a safe home.
“West Virginia has been exceptionally hit hard by the drug epidemic and that’s one of the biggest obstacles for reunification,” he said.
Pack said reunification in the foster care system is always the end goal.
“We’re able to remove children from their families. Families are able to deal with whatever challenges they’re facing and then once the home is safe for the children to return to, we’re able to reunify,” he said.
Reunification most often occurs in less than 12 months following foster care entry. Children who are 12 years of age or older when they enter foster care are three times more likely to exit care due to reunification than any other permanency goal, according to the DHHR.
A foster care dashboard launched a year ago in June 2022 has been a helpful tool so far, Pack said.
The dashboard uses charts and graphs to convey information like where, generally, foster children are placed, their age ranges, the number of out-of-state placements and where they are, and the status of child welfare positions.
Pack said it’s used to better understand the status of the state’s 6,300 children in foster care.
“It allows us to look at county-by-county and see if there are counties that are removing at an excessive rate or not removing frequently enough, so it does provide a lot of information that’s helpful,” he said.
The dashboard was part of a broad foster care bill that was considered by the state Legislature but failed last year.
Pack said the dashboard will be reviewed frequently and changes could be coming in the future, if needed.
“There may come a time when some of the data that’s displayed is less relevant, so perhaps there may be a time when data is removed from it,” he said. “It’s going to be an evolving thing year after year that gets updated.”