By TAYLOR STUCK The Herald-Dispatch
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — What is usually considered quiet time in the State Capitol has instead been busy with pandemic response, but West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice is still signing bills from the 2020 legislative session into law.
As of Friday afternoon, Justice had signed 351 bills into law and vetoed six.
Among the bills signed is a collection of bills surrounding child welfare, including House Bill 4092, which reformed the state foster care system in several ways. Foster families said the bill was going to make a significant impact on their lives.
The bill increased the reimbursement rate paid to foster families to help them provide for the children in their care. It creates a tiered payment system, which will provide more funding to families who foster harder-to-place youth, such as older kids or those with special needs, in an effort to reduce the number of children placed in institutions, the majority of which are out of state. …
Justice also signed a bill to add more Child Protective Services worker positions, adding a total of 87. Senate Bill 312 creates a registry of CPS workers, ensuring that those with positions that do not require a social work license are still monitored by a professional board but not given social work licenses.
The bills are effective 90 days after passage — June 3, 4 and 5. …
