Listen to “DoHS Drops the Bal… A Lot” on Spreaker.
The West Virginia Department of Human Services (DoHS) needs to pick the ball back up — and fast.
Sunday, veteran newsman Brad McElhinny published a piece about his efforts to understand what happened to the state’s work to secure approval for certain hot foods to be purchased with SNAP dollars. McElhinny asked a number of basic questions but couldn’t provide his readers with answers. Why?
DoHS has yet to respond to his request for information — a request he formally submitted under the Freedom of Information Act last August. Yes, about a year ago.
Always a purveyor of truth, McElhinny noted the many “updates” he received from DoHS over the past year, each telling him the department was working on his request but could not yet fulfill it.
The Berlin Wall fell, and Germany reunified, in 328 days. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the 13th Amendment, and enough states ratified it to abolish slavery, in 309 days. The nation’s delegates drafted the Constitution in 116 days. The Alaska Highway was constructed across extraordinarily rough terrain — some 1,500 miles — in about eight months. Congress created NASA about 10 months after the launch of Sputnik. WVU built its new ballpark in approximately 10 months. At the rate DoHS is going, we’ll see a new press box at Mountaineer Field before McElhinny sees his request fulfilled. Not good.
Ever wonder why you aren’t reading about certain government actions sooner rather than later? This may be why.
West Virginia Watch reporter — and Dave Wilson’s mom’s favorite guest on Talkline — Amelia Knisely broke news Friday about the department. According to her reporting, the agency has yet to implement House Bill 4191, which passed in March and took effect July 1. The new law was designed to address the financial difficulties facing many West Virginia childcare centers — challenges that have forced many to close, leaving more parents unable to find the care they need to work outside the home.
DoHS issued a statement on X Friday. In the small print accompanying a picture of the Capitol, the department noted that it was not asked to testify on the bill during the session or to provide a fiscal note. The department said that, had it been given the opportunity, it would have clearly outlined the operational complexity and lead time required for IT infrastructure, policy updates and provider training.
Enter House Communications Director and Deputy Chief of Staff Ann Ali, who provided a link to the House Finance Committee meeting at which HB 4191 was approved. She correctly noted that the department had an opportunity to raise concerns after the bill passed House Finance on February 27 and before it reached Senate Finance on March 11, ahead of its ultimate passage by the Senate.
Ali also provided a link to the bill’s fiscal note from the Department of Revenue. If DoHS had a problem with the fiscal note, where was the department?
Plain and simple: DoHS dropped the ball, again. Not being ready to implement HB 4191 on its effective date is basically failing to pick it up.
The more one looks, the more West Virginia issues appear to be botched at the hands of DoHS: basic FOIA requests; a law already enacted but not implemented; and, yes, perhaps (partially) claims of a TANF fiscal crisis that aren’t quite panning out. These and more history shows us.
It’s time for legislators to examine this organization and ask what more can be done to make it effective. It hasn’t worked well for some time — including during Governor Patrick Morrisey’s tenure — and shows little sign of working well anytime soon, despite the recent break up into smaller agencies. Absent real change, West Virginians shouldn’t expect better results from this multibillion-dollar cost center. That’s not acceptable.