By Steven Allen Adams, Special to The Journal of Martinsburg
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Drug overdose deaths are decreasing, and work is ongoing to reunite children in the foster care system with their families, but lawmakers and state health officials say more will be done to curb substance abuse and the further growth of the foster care system in 2020.
Members of the media heard from a panel of experts Friday during the West Virginia Press Association’s annual Legislative Lookahead at the Cultural Center in Charleston.
Bill Crouch, secretary of the state Department of Health and Human Resources, said the state will defend itself rigorously against a class action lawsuit brought by child welfare advocates Sept. 30 alleging that DHHR isn’t doing enough to protect foster children from abuse and neglect. The state filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit in November 2019. …
