West Virginia

Us & Them: Our Foster Care Crisis – West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Published

2 years ago

April 24, 2024

Us & Them: Our Foster Care Crisis – West Virginia Public Broadcasting

There’s a foster care crisis in America. Nationally, more than 390,000 children are in foster care. In West Virginia, that’s just over 6,000 children who need a safe place to call home. Last year, more than half of all states saw their number of licensed homes drop, some as high as 60 percent. That challenge comes because new foster parents don’t stay in the system for long.

On this episode of Us & Them, host Trey Kay hears about the shortage of licensed foster homes. Foster care is most often needed because of parental substance use, mental health challenges, poverty and neglect.

While official foster care cases are tracked and overseen by state agencies and nonprofit organizations, there are many informal kinds of so-called kinship care that are not official or included in state data. Some experts say the number of those kinship cases drives the stakes of the challenge much higher.

This episode of Us & Them is presented with support from the West Virginia Humanities Council, CRC Foundation and Daywood Foundation. Subscribe to Us & Them on Apple Podcasts, NPR One, RadioPublic, Spotify, Stitcher and beyond.

Dominic Snuffer was 5 when he and his four younger siblings went into the first of their foster care homes.

“I was in several foster care situations… I think three or four. It always seemed short and seemed as if we were getting bounced around. The hard part was probably just the beginning, how much I just always try to keep my siblings in check. I felt as if, if they behaved in a way, just like the other situations we might get taken away. It feels like yesterday that I got adopted. It went by fast. The things that make me smile was definitely adoption day. ‘Cause I knew, I finally found a family and I could try and live out the rest of my childhood.”

— Dominic Snuffer

Photo Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

An adult, middle age man with salt and pepper hair smiles for the camera. He wears glasses and a blue polo shirt. — Larry Cooper is executive vice president of Innovation at The Children’s Home Network (CHN) of Tampa Bay, Florida. The agency works with kids in the foster care system and also provides services to prevent and support families from ever entering into the foster care system. Cooper has worked at CHN for more than 20 years, and he’s spent 8 years licensing foster homes while recruiting and training new foster parents. Cooper says some of the challenges bringing in new foster parents comes from an approval process that’s strict for a reason – but can take more than 12 months. A lot of people drop out along the way.
“You might fall off because of just life experiences that you may be going through. You might have a change in jobs. You might have an illness in your family. You might have a death in the family. And so I used to see for every 100 parents that I recruited, I might get only four to six families actually get a kid into their home for every hundred that would call me and be interested in becoming a foster parent.”
— Larry Cooper
*Photo Credit: The Children’s Home Network*

An adult couple stand side by side. A man and a woman. The woman scratches a dog's ear who is looking up at her. Both are wearing black shirts. The man has a ball cap on. — Marc and Brandi Wilson live in St. Clairsville, Ohio — just across the river from Wheeling, West Virginia. Brandi was a Child Protective Services worker in West Virginia for 20 years. One day back in 2014, her work at the Department of Health and Human Resources and her personal life collided when they became foster parents to a baby related to Marc.
“They both took the stand and said that they give up the rights to their child, I just started breaking down. [Brandi] was sitting beside me like this and she looked over at me. She said, ‘What’s wrong?’ I said, ‘I can never imagine saying that about my own child.’ She was kind of numb to it because she’s worked in the field. It was hard to hear somebody say that.” — Marc Wilson
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“It wasn’t until he was sitting next to me in the courtroom that I realized not everybody hears relinquishment. Not everybody hears abuse, neglect. Not everybody hears that – as CPS workers [this is] just everyday language. So once I was with him and realized, OK, this isn’t everybody’s life. They may have drug issues, domestic violence, gangs coming in and out of their home, but these words are not everyday life for a lot of people.” — Brandi Wilson
*Photo Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

A woman with red hair smiles for the camera. She wears dangling earrings and a matching necklace. She wears a blue blazer over top a black shirt. — Rachel Kinder supervises The Kinship Navigator Program with Mission West Virginia, a nonprofit that’s been around since 1997. Kinder has been working with the foster care system for more than two decades, and has seen lots of trends. In 2019, there was a record high of 7,200 children in West Virginia’s foster care system. She says, while it’s one thing to count the legal cases overseen by the Department of Human Services, there are many informal kinds of kinship care that are not official or included in state data.
“I can tell you the number of kids in formal care, so if there are 6,078 kids in foster care in West Virginia, right now 58 percent of those are in kinship relative placements. For kids in informal care, where grandma or an aunt or some type of relative or even what we call fictive* kin has stepped in, it’s almost impossible to get numbers on that.”
— Rachel Kinder
*Fictive care refers to placements where a foster parent knows the child but is not related to them. This could be a teacher, family friend or a neighbor.
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*Photo Credit: Mission West Virginia*

Two women stand on a porch. One woman has her arm around the other. One woman wears glasses, a gray shirt and red shorts. The other woman wears a gray shirt and jeans. Both women have dark brown hair and smile for the camera. — There’s a clear need for foster families across the nation and in West Virginia. Nikki and Louisa Snuffer knew they would consider becoming foster parents when it came time for them to start a family. There’s a lot going on at their Sissonville home. The couple currently has 12 children, ranging from ages 10 months to 20 years old. Plus, they breed French Bulldogs.
“It actually was a pretty easy decision, because we were both on the same page almost always with helping people. I’ve known since probably my early high school years that I did want to do foster care. However, we really wanted no more than maybe three. And the way life and things happen, we got five at one time. I have two brothers who were put in foster care that I never knew and I still don’t know. So we made a commitment that when we got into it, that we would never split up families.” — Louisa Snuffer
“If they call us for a sibling group, we’re not going to say no to them because that was our number one belief. Like, ‘We need to do whatever we can to keep siblings together.’ When we were initially approved, we were approved for four children. So, DHHR told us we could have four children in the house, given the space. And that was kind of our cap. I said, ‘Maybe we’ll do three tops,’ you know, that seems like a manageable number. And the very first call we got for placement was a sibling group of five. Of course we said yes. We had to do a few things to get approved for a fifth child. They moved in with us. Things went great.” — Nikki Snuffer
*Photo Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

A middle age woman smiles for the camera while holding a baby in one arm. The baby looks up at the camera. The woman wears a gray t-shirt, and there's a patch on the sleeve that reads — Nikki Snuffer is holding her granddaughter. Many of the children the Snuffers have cared for, they know through Nikki’s job at Winfield High School. She’s an instructor for the Future Leaders Program, which is the National Guard’s high school curriculum that’s taught by veterans. In the program, students learn leadership and life skills, science, career prep and other subjects.
“[For] my kids that have gone to Winfield, I make them go through the [Future Leaders] program. Not because I’m teaching it, but because even if it wasn’t me, I’d want them to get these skills. It’s the kind of things that are forgotten these days.”
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— Nikki Snuffer
*Photo Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

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West Virginia

West Virginia falls flat in 65-63 loss to Kansas State – WV MetroNews

Published

3 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

West Virginia falls flat in 65-63 loss to Kansas State – WV MetroNews

West Virginia has said the right things about the need to capitalize on opportunities.

The Mountaineers aren’t following through when they come about.

The latest example came Tuesday night at Kansas State, which scored 21 unanswered points in the second half before holding off a furious West Virginia charge for a 65-53 victory at Bramlage Coliseum.

“The level of urgency and desire to win a game with so much on it wasn’t where it needed to be,” West Virginia head coach Ross Hodge said on postgame radio.

The Wildcats (12-18, 3-14) played without leading scorer PJ Haggerty, a surprise scratch with an undisclosed injury.

Although WVU (17-13, 8-9) defeated Kansas State 59-54 with Haggerty in the lineup during a January matchup in Morgantown, the Mountaineers were unable to capitalize on his absence in the rematch and fell to 1-4 in their last five games.

Both teams were dismal offensively in the opening half, which ended with West Virginia leading, 26-23.

The Mountaineers got 10 points apiece from reserve forwards Chance Moore and DJ Thomas, helping the visitors to at least somewhat overcome a starting lineup that scored six points on 3-for-15 shooting over the first 20 minutes.

“When you’re playing a team that is a little down and out, you can’t give them life and can’t give them hope,” Hodge said. “We had so many opportunities in the first half and at the beginning of the game to make some plays and entice a team that’s been struggling to maybe keep struggling.”

After a scoreless first half, WVU guard Honor Huff made his 100th three-pointer this season with 18:33 to play, allowing the Mountaineers to lead 31-27.

West Virginia went the next 8-plus minutes without a point, and Wildcats took control during that stretch.

Khamari McGriff scored the Wildcats’ first four points of the extended 21-0 spurt and accounted for four buckets and eight of the first 15 points during that time.

A jumper from CJ Jones with 10:53 remaining left the home team with a 48-31 advantage, before Thomas scored from close range to end his team’s extended drought at the 10:27 mark.

“I’m aware of our shortcomings and I understand when you’re deficient in some areas, your margin for error to win is razor thin,” Hodge said. “I’m disappointed with what was at stake, we got beat to loose balls. Would it have been nice to make more layups and threes? Of course. But when those things aren’t happening, you better do those other things.”

KSU had separate 19-point leads, the latter of which came at 57-38 when McGriff made two free throws with 7:29 to play.

WVU then increased its aggressiveness offensively and reeled off the next 11 points, while the Wildcats began to play tentative while in possession.

A three-pointer from K-State’s Nate Johnson left the Wildcats with a 60-49 lead with 3:48 left, but the Mountaineers continued to battle and trailed by six when Chance Moore scored in the paint at the 1:24 mark.

Moore’s next basket made it a five-point game, and after a Johnson turnover, Huff made two free throws to bring WVU to within 61-58 with 48 seconds left.

Another KSU turnover gave the visitors the ball back, but after Moore missed a shot that the Mountaineers rebounded, Huff committed a costly turnover.

Johnson made two free throws with 17 seconds left, and McGriff added two more with 7 seconds remaining before Huff made a trey at the buzzer.

Moore led WVU with 18 points and made 6-of-7 shots, but again struggled on free throws, finishing 5 for 9. WVU hurts its cause at the charity stripe and made only 9-of-16 attempts.

Brenen Lorient was the Mountaineers’ second-leading scorer with 14 second-half points, while Thomas followed with 12 and Huff added 11 on 3-for-11 shooting.

Treysen Eaglestaff led all players with 11 rebounds in defeat, but made only 3-of-12 shots in a six-point showing.

McGriff led KSU with 18 points and added seven rebounds.

Johnson finished with 16 points and nine boards.

WVU had nine of its 13 turnovers in the second half.

“Nine turnovers in the second half creates more busted floors, more cross match opportunities and through that, it makes you vulnerable for paint touch opportunities,” Hodge said.

K-State played under the guidance of interim head coach Matthew Driscoll. Driscoll replaced Jerome Tang, who was fired in between the team’s first and second matchups with West Virginia this season.

“Sometimes in life you get what you deserve,” Hodge said, “and we deserved to lose tonight.”

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West Virginia

Nitro completes utility deal with West Virginia American Water – WV MetroNews

Published

16 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Nitro completes utility deal with West Virginia American Water – WV MetroNews

Photo: Dave Casebolt, left, signed an agreement Tuesday with West Virginia American Water Company President Scott Wyman (City of Nitro)

NITRO, W.Va. — It’s a done deal.

Nitro Mayor Dave Casebolt signed an agreement Tuesday with West Virginia American Water Company President Scott Wyman completing the sale of the Nitro Regional Wastewater Utility including the sewer plant for $20 million.

The water utility will now own and operate the city’s water and wastewater systems. The state Public Service Commission recently approved the deal.

Casebolt said it’s good to get the long-talked-about agreement signed. He said the city can’t afford to make the improvements required at the sewer plant.

“We’re looking at needing between 40 and 50 million dollars of upgrades to our system and expecting our four-thousand customer base to try to offset those costs is not even practical,” Casebolt said.

Casebolt said sewer bills are going to go up but he said they were going to go up regardless. He said the city was facing increasing rates by as much as 50 percent.

West Virgina American is planning $42 million in upgrades to the sewer system over the next five years, Casebolt said.

“It’s a much-need investment and actually allow the system to handle rainwater much better where it’s not backing up into people’s homes,” Casebolt said.

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West Virginia

West Virginia Lottery results: See winning numbers for Powerball, Lotto America on March 2, 2026

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

The results are in for the West Virginia Lottery’s draw games on Monday, March 2, 2026.

Here’s a look at winning numbers for each game on March 2.

Winning Powerball numbers from March 2 drawing

02-17-18-38-62, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto America numbers from March 2 drawing

03-08-17-24-34, Star Ball: 06, ASB: 02

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Daily 3 numbers from March 2 drawing

7-4-8

Check Daily 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Daily 4 numbers from March 2 drawing

1-1-9-6

Check Daily 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash 25 numbers from March 2 drawing

02-03-05-07-19-22

Check Cash 25 payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

When are the West Virginia Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 11 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10:59 p.m. ET Tuesday and Friday.
Lotto America: 10:15 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Daily 3, 4: 6:59 p.m. ET Monday through Saturday.
Cash 25: 6:59 p.m. ET Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a USA Today editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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