Get AI Briefings, Transcripts & Alerts on Local & National Government Meetings — Forever.
Senate Finance Committee advances child-welfare measures, approves $28.5 million for foster care and a $375 clothing allowance for children entering state care
Loading...
Summary
The Senate Finance Committee reported several child-welfare and human-services bills to the full Senate, including a measure to require a $375 initial clothing allowance for children entering state custody and supplemental appropriations totaling more than $28 million for foster care and adoption services.
The West Virginia Senate Finance Committee on March 18 advanced a set of child-welfare and human-services measures to the full Senate, approving a bill establishing a $375 initial clothing allowance for children placed in state custody and reporting multiple supplemental appropriations to the Department of Human Services.
Counsel (S3) told the committee that the committee substitute for House Bill 43-54 “requires an initial clothing allowance of $375 to be provided for a child when initially placed in foster care, kinship care, or any other residential placement if the child needs clothing and necessities.” The bill, as presented, prioritizes disbursing the funds on an EBT-like card, authorizes a child-welfare worker to purchase items with an agency P‑card as a second option, and allows reimbursement for out-of-pocket costs as a last resort.
Counsel (S3) also described kinship-parent requirements included in the substitute: a background check that must satisfy the Department of Human Services (with the kinship parent paying the cost) and an initial home screening to identify and correct life‑safety issues. The counsel said the department must provide a list of child-placing agencies that can help kinship parents obtain certification and that the bill sets a six‑month payment term with permit dates tied to the first business day of the month.
The committee voted by voice to adopt a pending, non‑substantive amendment from the Committee on Judiciary and then voted to report the committee substitute for House Bill 43-54 to the full Senate with a recommendation that it pass. Vice Chairman moved the adoption and reporting motions and the chair declared each motion adopted by voice vote.
Separately, counsel (S4) described Senate Bill 8-30, a supplemental appropriation of $28,456,910 for the Department of Human Services. Counsel said the bill would allocate $7,767,412 for adoption-related social services, $19,689,498 for foster care social services, and $1,000,000 for adult services. A senator asked for clarification that the foster-care allocation amounted to about $19 million; counsel confirmed that amount.
The committee also advanced related appropriations: Senate Bill 8-27 (about $5.86 million in targeted personal‑services and social‑services allocations across the Bureau for Social Services), Senate Bill 8-40 (about $872,000 for CHIP administrative and services costs), and Senate Bill 8-74 (about $5.48 million for personal services and current expenses in the Department of Human Services). Each bill was reported to the full Senate by voice vote.
Why it matters: the measures would change how the state funds and supports children entering care, create a guaranteed, one‑time clothing allowance intended to reduce barriers when a child is removed from their home, and add substantial supplemental funding for foster, adoption, CHIP, and other services. The bills still must be considered by the full Senate.
What’s next: each bill reported by the committee will be placed on the full Senate calendar for further consideration; the committee record shows voice votes and committee reporting but no roll-call tallies in the transcript.
