CHARLESTON — West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice stated Friday that the state is in search of bids on a consulting contract to undertake an intensive evaluate of the huge Division of Well being and Human Assets.
Justice stated the deadline to submit bids is Might 6.
In late March, Justice vetoed a invoice that might have break up the DHHR into separate companies, saying he first wished to look into its “points, bottlenecks, and inefficiencies.”
Some supporters of the invoice had stated the transfer was lengthy overdue for such a big company and will have helped higher tackle the state’s substance abuse disaster. West Virginia has the nation’s highest drug overdose dying charge.
There additionally had been failed makes an attempt within the latest legislative session to handle the state’s foster care system, which falls beneath the DHHR. Greater than 6,500 youngsters are within the care of the state. Pay raises for social staff had been gutted after a invoice geared toward enhancing foster care providers unraveled on the Legislature’s last day in March.
The DHHR at the moment has one cupboard secretary, Invoice Crouch, overseeing a $7.6 billion funds, or 39% of the state’s complete spending. Eleven secretaries from different departments oversee the remaining 60% of state spending.
The DHHR break up query goes again to a 2013 consulting agency report that advised such a transfer would permit for a extra environment friendly use of company assets.
West Virginia has a $740 million funds surplus by the primary 9 months of the fiscal 12 months, one thing the two-term Republican governor has in thoughts as he goes ahead with much more consulting work on the DHHR for what he known as a top-to-bottom evaluate.
“Each respiratory, residing individual is aware of that DHHR didn’t simply get this manner on my watch or in the previous couple of years,” Justice stated at a information convention. “Actually and actually, DHHR has had issues for an extended, lengthy, very long time. The good factor is we’re addressing them now.
“We lastly obtained the {dollars} coming in from a surplus standpoint to have the ability to do one thing. All we’ve been in a position to do prior to now was reduce, reduce and reduce extra and also you couldn’t do something. Now there could also be an actual chance to actually even assist extra.”