On April 17, 2024, authorities were called to a home in Boone County where they found Kyneddi Miller dead. The 14-year-old girl was emaciated and in what authorities would describe as a “skeletal” state. Kyneddi’s mother and grandparents were charged with neglect resulting in death and are awaiting trial. (Charges against the grandfather were dropped when he was found to not be mentally competent to stand trial.)
The case triggered an outrage in West Virginia. How could this happen? Kyneddi’s mother was supposed to be homeschooling the child, but it appears there was no required follow up by Boone County schools. Additionally, the State Police visited the home earlier and then went to the local Child Protective Services office, but it remains unclear whether CPS investigated.
Reporters’ repeated inquiries into the case met a stone wall. The state Department of Human Services refused to release any information citing a state law providing for confidentiality in child abuse and neglect cases.
However, the case caught the eye of the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It investigated and its report has just been released, and it is illuminating. (You can read the full report here.)
Start with the breadth of child abuse and neglect cases. The agency found that for one year starting in the fall of 2023, there were 23,759 reports of child abuse and neglect in the state that warranted follow-up. Think about that for a moment. CPS is being flooded every day with information about suspected abuse and neglect cases that may lead to the assignment of a caseworker.
Caseworkers are overloaded and, as a result, much of the required paperwork that moves cases along and provides for accountability was not being done during that period. The report said that “staff retention, staff shortages, and child welfare workers having to manage high caseloads contributed to not completing initial assessments timely.”
The result of that is consequential. “Reports that take too long to investigate may result in continued child abuse and neglect of the victim.” This report quantifies what has been suspected for years; West Virginia has a child abuse and neglect crisis that overwhelms the system put in place to protect those children.
Fortunately, the Morrisey administration is already addressing the issue. State Department of Health Services and cabinet secretary Alex Mayer told MetroNews this week, “I think we’ve already started putting some things in place that help ensure they are able to perform the duties they are required to do. We continue to double down on other additional supports to them (the CPS workers) so they can be successful in their role.”
This federal report peels back the veil that had been placed over CPS. It represents a quantified baseline of the problems in CPS that policy makers can use to make improvements, and that has been long overdue.
Poor Kyneddi Miller. The judicial system will determine the culpability of her mother and grandmother in her death. They were, after all, the primary caregivers. But we know too well how family dysfunction for any number of reasons can lead to horrible situations for children.
We also know that the state has a legal and moral responsibility to protect these innocent victims. It is a difficult, time-consuming, and sometimes dangerous job for those frontline CPS workers. This report documents the myriad challenges of the job, and it’s up to the agency—with the support of the policy makers—to fix them.
Tragically, it is too late for Kyneddi. Hopefully it is not too late for the hundreds of other West Virginia children like her.