West Virginia
As Justice admin delays funding, group homes to close and displace adults with disabilities • West Virginia Watch
A few weeks ago, Gov. Jim Justice, who is running for an open U.S. Senate seat, asked the public to “stay tuned” regarding funding for programs that help people with disabilities.
West Virginia’s low Medicaid reimbursement rate has led to staffing shortages for workers who help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) eat, bathe and live in home-like settings.
As the Republican governor and the Department of Human Services haven’t yet addressed the rates, a group home in Martinsburg for about a dozen people with disabilities will close due to staffing shortages.
“It’s awful. People we serve may have to locate hours away from their family or relocate to live with someone they don’t know,” said Ray Ratke, CEO of enCircle. The Virginia-based company operates the group homes under the name of Stonebrook.
Half of the individuals have no family members who can care for them, he added, meaning they could end up in state-run institutions that were never meant to house individuals long term.
Ratke said the closure, planned for Nov. 1, was due to the state’s failure to address the Medicaid reimbursement rate issue and raise worker pay rates.
People we serve may have to locate hours away from their family or relocate to live with someone they don’t know.
– Ray Ratke, CEO of enCircle
West Virginia Behavioral Healthcare Providers Association CEO Brad Story said it wasn’t likely other providers would be able to take the displaced Martinsburg patients as they’re all grappling with staffing shortages due to the reimbursement rate issue.
“In order to rehome or transfer a client, you’ve got to have another [provider] ready to provide this service. No one I know of is ready to accept clients right now. It’s going to be very, very challenging,” Story said.
There’s a waitlist of more than 700 people for the state’s IDD waiver program, which allows them to access services like in-home care. A DoHS leader said in April that around 6,000 people were served by the program.
Lawmakers bolstered IDD funding during the May special legislative session but didn’t mandate how DoHS spent the money. Many argued the department already had the money to fund the increase but hadn’t chosen to.
West Virginia Watch reached out to DoHS for this story and asked if the closure was connected to the state’s Medicaid reimbursement rate issue.
In an email, DoHS Director of Communications Whitney Wetzel said: “The West Virginia Department of Human Services is aware of the closure and DoHS Bureau for Medical Services Commissioner Cindy Beane has met with the facility.
“We recommend reaching out to the facility for questions regarding its business decision to close.”
Rate increase could happen this fall, but is it soon enough?
The state uses state and federal money from Medicaid to reimburse private companies that employ direct care workers.
Caregivers currently earn around $11 an hour. A rate study last year suggested that a salary range should be closer to $15.50-$18.60 per hour.
Ratke said his company, which plans to lay off around 65 workers, has struggled to staff in-home workers while paying $13.66 an hour — particularly in the Eastern Panhandle where people can easily travel to nearby border states for higher pay.
In April, he stood in the Senate chamber before lawmakers and DoHS leaders and pleaded for a reimbursement rate increase. He warned a closure could happen without an adequate fix.
“It’s very frustrating and disheartening we have been working for two years educating legislators and the governors’ office about this issue,” Ratke said on Monday.
After slashing IDD funding during the regular legislative session, lawmakers in May passed a bill that gave DoHS roughly $180 million in a reserve for department leaders to dip into for limited reasons when needed. It could be used on the Medicaid reimbursement rates.
Lawmakers were wary about giving DoHS money for the reimbursement rate after learning in April that the department previously spent millions of dollars earmarked for people with disabilities on things like in-home COVID-19 tests and contract nurses’ salaries.
Leaders with DoHS have told lawmakers, lobbyists and West Virginia Watch that they’re considering a reimbursement rate increase that would go into effect in October.
Story was hopeful that providers would see a rate increase.
“We’re thankful they’re going to give us that, and [DoHS Secretary] Cynthia Persily has taken every meeting we’ve asked for,” he said.
Under current regulations, private companies wouldn’t be required to spend the rate increase money on staff raises, though many have committed to it. Other providers, including those that serve elderly residents through the state’s Aged and Disabled Waiver Program, have also said they need a rate increase.
For Ratke and the individuals he serves, the possible increase may come too late. He stressed that these individuals are receiving necessary state-funded care due no fault of their own.
Institutionalized individuals, he noted, will cost the state much more than properly funding community-based services like the ones he plans to shutter.
“You can either serve people and serve them well, or you can run into problems and have to pay much more,” he said.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The following events happened on these dates in West Virginia history, compiled by the West Virginia Humanities Council from its online encyclopedia, e-WV.
April 19, 1896: Writer Melville Davisson Post was born in Harrison County. His best-known works are the Randolph Mason series, published in three volumes, and the more successful collection Uncle Abner: Master of Mysteries.
April 19, 1902: Author Jean Lee Latham was born in Buckhannon. She wrote a number of children’s books, including Carry On, Mr. Bowditch, which won the 1956 Newbery Award.
April 20, 1823: Gen. Jesse Lee Reno was born in Wheeling. He graduated from West Point in 1846 with another cadet from western Virginia, Thomas J. Jackson, later known as “Stonewall.” Reno was the highest-ranking officer from present West Virginia killed in the Civil War.
April 20, 1863: President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation that in 60 days, West Virginia would become a state. The occasion was marked 100 years later during the state’s Centennial celebration with a special ceremonial session of the West Virginia Legislature on April 20, 1963, in Wheeling.
April 20, 1909: Fiddler Melvin Wine was born near Burnsville in Braxton County. A favorite of old-time music enthusiasts nationally, he was chosen as a National Heritage Fellow in 1991 by the National Endowment for the Arts — the highest recognition given to a folk artist in the United States.
April 20, 1939: Poet Irene McKinney was born in Belington, Barbour County. Gov. Gaston Caperton appointed her state poet laureate in 1993, and she served in that capacity until her death in 2012.
April 21, 1908: Musician Phoeba Cottrell Parsons was born in Calhoun County. Parsons’ traditional clawhammer banjo style, unaccompanied ballad singing, riddles and storytelling have influenced countless younger musicians.
April 21, 1936: President Franklin Roosevelt established the Jefferson National Forest. The West Virginia portion of the forest includes about 19,000 acres in Monroe County.
April 22, 1908: Marshall “Little Sleepy” Glenn was born in Elkins. Glenn coached basketball at West Virginia University from 1934 to 1938 and football from 1937 to 1940. He was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.
April 22, 1948: Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter and musician Larry Groce was born in Dallas, Texas. He is best known as the longtime host and artistic director of the Mountain Stage radio program.
April 22, 2003: Activist Judy Bonds, a Raleigh County native, received the Goldman Environmental Prize for her fight against mountaintop removal mining. Her efforts inspired thousands and turned a local West Virginia issue into a national cause.
April 23, 1857: Andrew S. Rowan was born in Gap Mills, Monroe County. Rowan, a military officer, was chosen as the messenger when President William McKinley wanted to send a message to Cuban Gen. Calixto Garcia during the Spanish-American War. The 1899 pamphlet A Message to Garcia made the incident famous.
April 24, 1865: McNeill’s Rangers surrendered to Union troops at New Creek — now Keyser. The Confederate guerrilla force probably never numbered more than 100 men at any time but managed to inflict regular damage on Union operations.
April 25, 1863: In what became known as the Jones-Imboden Raid, about 1,500 Confederate soldiers under Gen. William “Grumble” Jones advanced through Greenland Gap, a deep pass through New Creek Mountain in present Grant County. The Confederates encountered 87 Union soldiers who held off several assaults before finally surrendering.
April 25, 1923: Union leader Arnold Ray Miller was born at Leewood on Cabin Creek in Kanawha County. In December 1972, he defeated Tony Boyle to become president of the United Mine Workers and served until 1979.
e-WV is a project of the West Virginia Humanities Council. For more information, contact the council at 1310 Kanawha Blvd. E., Charleston, WV 25301, call 304-346-8500 or visit wvencyclopedia.org.
During the Gold-Blue spring game on Saturday, the West Virginia coaching staff named wide receiver Cyrus Traught the recipient of the 2026 Tommy Nikolich Award.
The award, which is always given out at the end of spring ball, recognizes a walk-on team member who has distinguished himself through his attitude and work ethic. The award is presented in memory of Tommy Nickolich, a former WVU player (1980-82) who passed away from cancer in 1983.
Traugh is a Parkersburg native and graduate of Parkersburg South High School. He began his career at Youngstown State before transferring back home to play for the Mountaineers last season. In his final year with the Penguins, he logged 36 receptions, 409 yards, and a team-leading five touchdowns, two of which came against Pitt.
During the 2025 campaign with the Mountaineers, he saw action against Robert Morris and Kansas, playing 10 snaps against the Jayhawks, but did not record any stats.
Head coach Rich Rodriguez has mentioned him twice this spring as someone who has been doing some good things and making progress. Wide receivers coach Ryan Garrett also showed him some love during his press conference last week.
The Mountaineers completely revamped the wide receiver room this offseason, upping the level of talent at both inside and outside receiver spots, but perhaps Traugh can work his way into the mix if he puts together a strong summer and fall camp. If he’s not a regular in the rotation, he’ll serve as a quality depth piece who can play special teams.
Past Nickolich Award winners:
2025: Clay Ash, RB
2024: Avery Wilcox, S
2023: C.J. Cole, WR
2022: Nick Malone, OL
2021: Graeson Malashevich, WR/H
2020: Osman Kamara, S
2019: Jake Abbott, LB
2018: Evan Staley, K
2017: Nick Meadows, LS
2016: Jon Lewis, DL
2015: Justin Arndt, LB
2014: Michael Calicchio, OL
2013: Connor Arlia, WR
2012: Tyler Anderson, DE
2011: Ryan Nehlen, WR
2010: Matt Lindamood, FB
2009: Josh Taylor, DL
2008: Adam Hughes, LS
2007: Andy Emery, LB
2006: Tim Lindsey, LS
2005: George Shehl, H/DB
2004: Jeff Noechel, LB
2003: John Pennington, WR
2002: Moe Fofana, RB
2001: Jeremy Knapp, TE
2000: Ben Collins, LB
1999: Bryan Lorenz, LB
1998: Mark Corman, TE
1997: David Lightcap, DB
1996: Matt Ceresa, OL
1995: Rob Keys, DB
1994: Randy Fulmore, DB
1993: Matt McCulty, WR
1992: Brett Parise, WR, Ray Wilcox, LB
1991: Keith Taparausky, RB
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