West Virginia
WV child care providers face uncertain future as temporary funds are used on a long-term problem • West Virginia Watch
Child care assistance for thousands of West Virginia kids still is in limbo as the Department of Human Services needs anywhere from $23-30 million dollars for a funding shortfall. Lawmakers are unlikely to step in and give the department funds, saying the embattled agency already has the money to cover it.
DoHS has been using federal emergency funds to subsidize child care centers to avoid a Sept. 1 funding cliff, which could have removed 2,000 kids from the program by next month. Gov. Jim Justice said on Thursday that the money could sustain the program through the end of the year.
“We’ve found enough federal funds to cover the cost of our centers with entirety ‘til the end of the year,” he said. “We’ve got to make sure that we improve child care, because that’s what drives young people to this great state and we’ve got to have workers.”
But how DoHS will pay for it beyond that — as well as the state’s plan for sufficient, long-term child care funding — remains a question that DoHS hasn’t yet clarified for lawmakers, child care providers, families or this news outlet.
“We are just business owners fighting to get funding for families right now,” said Jennifer Trippett, owner of Cubby’s Child Care Center in Bridgeport. “It is impossible to run a business that you don’t know what your funding stream is going to be in six months.”
The center serves 450 families; around 50% of those children use the state’s child care assistance program, which pays the center per child.
“We’re told there is funding, but there’s no one who can say where it will come from,” she said.
The federal government recently mandated without funding that states subsidize child care centers based on the total enrollment rather than attendance. About 15,000 West Virginia families used the child care assistance program in 2023.
DoHS has been using money from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program to cover the costs of child care subsidies.
“The plan is to use TANF dollars as long as they can,” said Del. Amy Summers, R-Taylor.
“My goal is that families feel less nervous,” she continued. “What I wish is that we had a clear answer. I worry about these families and children and their planning. I’d like to have accurate information.”
TANF dollars aren’t permanent, and DoHS leaders said they’ll give families and providers a 60-day notice when the funding changes.
DoHS did not respond to multiple interview requests or questions about child care from West Virginia Watch. A spokesperson for Justice didn’t respond to this story.
House Minority Leader Sean Horbuckle, D-Cabell, said his caucus had tried with little success to get information from DoHS about the funding issue.
The lack of communication for child providers and families was “disrespectful to the citizens of West Virginia on such an important matter,” he said.
DoHS says it’s the legislature’s problem to fix, lawmakers disagree
DoHS Secretary Cynthia Persily told WV News on Aug. 16 that she needed the Legislature to allocate additional funds for the shortfall and that she couldn’t dip into a recently-created $180 million reserve fund.
Lawmakers, concerned with DoHS spending transparency, required in the bill that DoHS report to them any spending out of the reserve. It doesn’t prohibit the department from using the money for the child care assistance program.
“[Speaker Roger Hanshaw] is confident the Department of Human Services has enough funds for child care assistance to continue … and the speaker also is confident the department’s reserve fund for making up any funding shortfall in the short term is available to the secretary relatively unencumbered for that purpose,” House of Delegates Communications Director Ann Ali said.
Hornbuckle said that he didn’t want to focus on “who was right or wrong.”
“It’s not time to hide or tell fables or bend the truth. Let’s figure out why we haven’t moved on this and let’s get it moved on,” he said. “Besides the parents and kids, it hurts the economy. It’s a tough thing.”
He also noted that House Democrats, under the leadership of Del. Kayla Young, D-Kanawha, prioritized child care legislation during the session.
With more than 20,000 child care spots needed in the state, Republican leaders had also said it was a priority as they looked to improve the state’s chronically-low rate of workforce participation.
But a bundle of bi-partisan bills focused on increasing child care access never went up for a vote in the full House or Senate. Then during the May special session, lawmakers voted down a bipartisan amendment that would have required DoHS to spend some of the $180 million reserve on child care and avoid the current funding shortfall.
The funding cliff won’t likely be addressed in an August special session should Justice decide to call one. He has been pushing a Child and Dependent Care tax credit that would allow 16,300 eligible families to claim up to 50% of the allowable federal tax credit.
“I think what I’m gathering is that the governor hasn’t given that to us to fund. He had opportunities during the session and [May] special session,” Summers said. “He wants his tax credit.”
More issues plaguing child care providers
Lawmakers will be at the State Capitol on Sunday for the start of August interim meetings. Trippett and other child care providers will hold a rally at 2:30 p.m to ask lawmakers to solve the funding issue.
While the state’s enrollment subsidy model will help stabilize child care center’s income, Trippett stressed that DoHS must increase the amount it pays in subsidies for children.
The state lost 750 child care spots this year because the subsidy amount failed to keep up with rising operational costs.
“I lose a ton of money on every child who has assistance,” she said. “Since 2019, any child care center that is hiring someone with or without a degree who has training … instead of paying $9-10 an hour, we now have to pay $17 an hour because that’s what fast food is paying. And the cost of food has tripled.”
The No. 17 West Virginia Mountaineers (17-4, 5-1) are in a top 25 road matchup and look to remain atop the Big 12 Conference standings against the No. 22 Arizona State Devils (18-6, 4-2) for a three-game weekend series. Game one is Friday night with the first pitch set for 9:30 p.m. EST (ESPN+) game two is Saturday at 9:30 p.m. EST (ESPN+) and the series finale is scheduled for Sunday night at 9:00 p.m. EST (ESPN2).
West Virginia comes into the game on a six-game winning streak after taking two of three from Baylor, sweeping BYU and knocked off Marshall Tuesday night.
Two Mountaineers reside in the top five of the Big 12 in batting averaging. Paul Schoenfeld has emerged as the Mountaineers leader at the plate, hitting a team-high .418, which ranks third in the conference with a team-best 26 RBI. The senior is currently on an 11-game hitting streak.
Gavin Kelly is fourth in the league with a .416 batting average and is riding a 17-game hitting streak. The sophomore leads the team in hits (37), runs (28) and doubles (11).
Senior Matthew Graveline has clubbed a team-high four home runs, while junior Armani leads the Mountaineers in stolen bases with 12.
On the mound, West Virginia is expected to start Dawson Montesa in the series opener. The junior right hander threw seven innings in his last outing against BYU, tying a season-high, with seven strikeouts. He holds 4-0 record with 4.65 ERA and 39 strikeouts.
Lefty Maxx Yehl is scheduled to move to the middle of the series after closing out each of the first six series of the season. The redshirt junior is second in the conference in ERA at .084, allowing a mere three runs in 32.0 innings of work. In the last two outings, he has recorded a combined 23 strikeouts, upping his season total to a team-leading 44 strikeouts on the season.
Chansen Cole will start game three. The right-handed sophomore had his toughest outing of the season last weekend against BYU. He allowed six earned runs in three innings, but registered six strikeouts. He is currently 3-0 with a 4.00 ERA with 29 strikeouts.
Arizona State is 11-2 after a four-game skid against SEC opponents, and notched its series wins over TCU and Kansas State.
Sophomore Landon Hairston leads the team with a .458 batting average, tie with fifth-year senior Dean Toigo with 11 home runs, 11 doubles, 36 runs, and 34 RBI.
Junior lefty Cole Carlon is slated to counter with Cole Carlon (2-1, 3.19 ERA), junior right-hander Alex Overbay (0-0, 5.19 ERA), is set for game two, and senior righty Kole Klecker (3-1, 5.61 ERA) is scheduled for the series finale.
This is the first meeting between the two programs.
West Virginia
West Virginia Agencies Shielding Details on $1.44B DOE Coal Bail-out Loan from Public – CleanTechnica
Support CleanTechnica’s work through a Substack subscription or on Stripe.
West Virginians Are On the Hook to Pay DOE for Short-Sighted Projects with Big Health Impacts
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Following two postponements, the West Virginia Department of Commerce has informed Sierra Club’s West Virginia Chapter that there are “no non-exempt records” responsive to the Club’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request pertaining to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) plans to loan local utilities $1.44 billion to fund refurbishment projects at six unnamed West Virginia coal-fired power plants.
The DOE and Governor Patrick Morrisey first announced the $1.44 billion in coal refurbishment projects as part of a larger $4.2 billion suite of fossil-fuel expansions in November 2025. The projects are intended to extend the lives of the six coal plants up to 20 years. However, regardless of how long the coal plants manage to continue operating, payments on the low-interest DOE loans will be passed on to West Virginians’ electric bills for decades.
According to the West Virginia Department of Commerce, “certain public records within the scope” of the Sierra Club’s FOIA request are, “exempt from disclosure.” In the January FOIA filing, Sierra Club requested a detailed list of the six plants set to receive loans, as well as information on the cost and the specific upgrades proposed at each plant.
In addition to funding the projects, West Virginians will also shoulder the public health impacts. According to a Sierra Club study, West Virginia’s in-state coal plants currently account for hundreds of expensive hospital visits and 20 West Virginian deaths annually. West Virginia’s coal plants also account for 335 out-of-state deaths annually.
“West Virginians are being kept in the dark,” said Bill Price, Sierra Club West Virginia Chapter Chair. “Our local state agencies, tasked with serving the public interest, are expecting the public to repay billions of dollars in loans — blindfolded. No honest lender operates this way. No reasonable borrower would accept it. So why ask us to go along with the Governor’s deal without any details? In this time of increasing energy costs and high bills, people need to know where their money is going. We will continue to seek the answers and transparency West Virginians deserve.”
“West Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act states quite clearly, ‘The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the instruments of government they have created.’ Before the State loads down West Virginia citizens with over a billion dollars in loans, they should at least tell us what this is for, what we have to pay back, and who profits from these loans,” added Jim Kotcon, Conservation Chair for Sierra Club West Virginia.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person’s right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.
Sign up for CleanTechnica’s Weekly Substack for Zach and Scott’s in-depth analyses and high level summaries, sign up for our daily newsletter, and follow us on Google News!
Have a tip for CleanTechnica? Want to advertise? Want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.
Sign up for our daily newsletter for 15 new cleantech stories a day. Or sign up for our weekly one on top stories of the week if daily is too frequent.
CleanTechnica uses affiliate links. See our policy here.
CleanTechnica’s Comment Policy
Morrisey: Growth of Alcon in Cabell County is evidence of good times ahead for WV
Wyoming teen discovers rare and ancient megalodon shark tooth off Florida coast
Where Will the Cryptocurrency XRP Be in 10 Years? | The Motley Fool
New Funding Models Needed As Global Health Faces Growing Financial Strain – Health Policy Watch
I’m a fitness writer and these are the 44 best deals I’ve found in the Amazon Big Spring Sale
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Indiana Members Credit Union announced as new anchor tenant at Bottleworks District
Dem senators dodge crucial question on illegal alien accused of killing Chicago college student
EU Parliament unblocks key political hurdle in digital euro talks
Man arrested in plot to firebomb Palestinian activist’s home after undercover op
WATCH: Senate hearing goes silent after Angel Father confronts top Dem over daughter’s death
US diplomat Marco Rubio denounces settler violence, tolls in Hormuz strait
-
Detroit, MI1 week agoDrummer Brian Pastoria, longtime Detroit music advocate, dies at 68
-
Movie Reviews1 week ago‘Youth’ Twitter review: Ken Karunaas impresses audiences; Suraj Venjaramoodu adds charm; music wins praise | – The Times of India
-
Sports7 days agoIOC addresses execution of 19-year-old Iranian wrestler Saleh Mohammadi
-
New Mexico5 days agoClovis shooting leaves one dead, four injured
-
Business1 week agoDisney’s new CEO says his focus is on storytelling and creativity
-
Tennessee5 days agoTennessee Police Investigating Alleged Assault Involving ‘Reacher’ Star Alan Ritchson
-
Technology6 days agoYouTube job scam text: How to spot it fast
-
Texas1 week agoHow to buy Houston vs. Texas A&M 2026 March Madness tickets