West Virginia
WSAZ Investigates | W.Va.’s Child Neglect Confidentiality Law
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) – The recent death of a 14-year-old girl in Boone County prompted WSAZ NewsChannel 3 to take a closer look at the state law that the West Virginia Department of Human Services says requires it to keep quiet.
News of the fatality broke last week. Local authorities say the teenager had not eaten for months and was unable to function more than four to five days before she died.
Authorities also say the girl, who they believe was home schooled, had not been outside of the home more than two times in the last four years.
The teen’s mother was charged with child neglect resulting in death.
Mother arrested in connection with teen’s death
The Governor’s Department of Human Services, on Monday, issued a lengthy statement on the case on behalf of Child Protective Services. It says, in part, that such cases deserve “deliberative, thoughtful, and cautious,” assessment with careful respect for confidentiality.
A day later, Tuesday, NewsChannel 3 reporter Curtis Johnson asked Gov. Jim Justice, should that statement indicate that CPS had a history in that child’s life?
Justice said, “You know, Curtis, the CPS folks, from what I understand, had no idea about this child, no idea whatsoever.”
W.Va. Gov: CPS had ‘no idea’ of Boone neglect case
So, Johnson asked Human Services to verify the governor’s comment that CPS had no knowledge of the Boone County teenager.
Instead, a spokesperson directed Johnson to “carefully review” Monday’s lengthy statement
He did just that, reading not only the press release, but also the section of state law it referenced. It was there, Johnson found one subsection that says the department, in case of a child neglect fatality, shall make public information relating to the case.
So, Johnson asked the department for any information regarding the Boone County case, or an explanation if the department believed it could not provide information.
The spokesperson did not respond before 6 p.m. Thursday.
As a result, Johnson took that question to state Del. Heather Tully, R-Nicholas, reading her that specific section of code.
“If there is a child fatality or near fatality due to child abuse and neglect, information relating to a fatality or near fatality shall be made public by the Department of Human Services and provided to the entities described,” Johnson said to Tully. “How do you read that?”
“I believe that if a child fatality occurs or a near fatality occurs, then there should be some type of public information reporting,” she replied.
“It says information relating to a fatality or near fatality shall be made public,” Johnson asked. “You think that’s clear?”
“I think that’s very clear,” Tully replied. “I think the the term ‘public’ is very clear to probably anybody that interprets it.”
But it doesn’t stop there.
Even the department’s release acknowledged another section of that state law, which reads “information related to child abuse or neglect proceedings … shall be made available upon request to: Federal, state, or local government entities.”
Tully serves on the state’s Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and Human Resources Accountability, known by its acronym LOCHHRA for short.
“When you talk about federal, state or local government entities, you believe LOCHHRA is clearly a state entity?” Johnson asked.
“I believe that the Legislature is clearly a state entity,” Tully replied.
“Have you requested that information in similar cases?” he asked.
“I have not requested that information in writing,” she answered. “I have certainly made inquiry into certain cases that have happened before the Department of Human Services, only to be stonewalled and to be told that they can’t give us that information as a member of the LOCHHRA committee.”
WSAZ reached out to the Governor’s Office late Thursday afternoon to ask if he plans to direct the Department of Human Services to release any information it has as required by state code in a child fatality case.
WSAZ had received no response as of 6 p.m. Thursday.
Copyright 2024 WSAZ. All rights reserved.
BOONE COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) – We have a traffic alert for drivers in the Danville area of Boone County.
Starting on Friday, they should expect delays as crew perform work on the Jill Micah Hess Bridge along U.S. 119.
According to the West Virginia Department of Transportation, northbound traffic will be shifted from the slow lane to the fast lane.
This will take place from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., and drivers are asked to expect delays.
Copyright 2026 WSAZ. All rights reserved.
West Virginia
Community Catalyst Grant applications are open through West Virginia First Foundation through June 30 – WV MetroNews
The West Virginia First Foundation, which was established to use drug lawsuit settlement money to try to alleviate problems related to addiction, reported having access to $378.5 million in financial resources and noted that more than $34 million in grants have been awarded since the organization’s start.
The West Virginia First Foundation met for a few minutes Thursday at Ascend West Virginia in Charleston. The meeting was also available for view through streaming.
Executive Director Jonathan Board highlighted the launch of the Community Catalyst Grant application and a statewide needs assessment intended to identify service gaps.
Designed as a three-year, outcomes-driven investment, the program will support projects focused on public safety response, day report centers and generational prevention efforts. The program opened for applications on June 1 and remains open through June 30.
“We’re very encouraged by the interest and engagement so far,” Board said.
The board also approved a $4 million funding request for the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute. The project is focused on expanding access to innovative addiction treatment and recovery support tools while building the technology and infrastructure needed to support implementation across West Virginia.
Additional details about the project and funding agreement are to be released in the coming weeks following the completion of final documentation. West Virginia First Foundation and Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute plan to issue a joint announcement once the agreement process is complete.
“They’ve gone through a very rigorous process for the correct funding,” Board said. “Their team has presented an opportunity to fund a project that will build technology, training and support systems of care needed to expand access to an innovative addiction treatment approach throughout the state of West Virginia, and really beyond.”
The West Virginia First Foundation is a non-profit organization established in 2023 to manage and distribute 72.5% of the state’s opioid settlement funds, totaling hundreds of millions of dollars. The organization is aimed at combatting the addiction crisis through grants and regional projects.
The next regular meeting of the Foundation’s Board of Directors is scheduled for Sept. 17 although it’s subject to change.
West Virginia may have come up empty-handed in two tries against North Carolina in the College World Series, but they earned the respect of their head coach, Scott Forbes, who was incredibly complimentary of the Mountaineers following Wednesday’s game.
“I want to congratulate West Virginia. A heck of a team, a heck of a run,” he opened his postgame press conference with. “They are very well coached. They just play the game the right way. It’s a credit to their coaching staff. They come at you a lot of ways. A lot of speed, deep pitching staff, so we really had to work in those two games to beat them. I’ve been in their shoes, and I know what that feels like, and it’s a stinker. But man, they got a lot to be proud of, and they should be extremely proud of how they represented their university.”
The culture at WVU is as strong as it gets
Multiple times this season, West Virginia looked like they were well on their way to a loss and were rewarded with a win because they never stopped playing hard. Everyone thinks of the two games against Kentucky in the Morgantown Regional, and rightfully so, but they also came back to win after trailing by eight against UCF and after trailing by five to BYU.
For a moment, there was a belief that the magical moment was going to come again during Wednesday’s game against Forbes’ Tar Heels. With two outs in the 7th and trailing 12-1, Armani Guzman busted his tail down the first base line to beat out a grounder to short. It ultimately led to a five-run inning for the Mountaineers, all of a sudden turning a laugher into a semi-interesting game. Gavin Kelly hit a solo home run in the 8th to make it a five-run deficit, and in the ninth, Ben Lumsden just missed a three-run shot that would have really put pressure on North Carolina, even with two outs.
To have your team still playing hard when trailing by 11 with their season likely about to come to an end, it says a lot about the character of this group, but also how deeply ingrained the culture is at WVU. There’s a reason this program has turned the corner over the last 14 or so years and is continuing to trend up. They’ve had the right people in place leading it.
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