By TAYLOR STUCK The Herald-Dispatch
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — As the 2020 session came to an end Saturday, West Virginia lawmakers could leave the Capitol knowing they made an impact on some of the state’s most vulnerable residents — its children.
Legislators made finishing touches Saturday to House Bill 4092, the session’s comprehensive foster care reform bill. Bipartisan compromise landed the bill in the House on Saturday morning with nearly everything the delegates originally asked for after a week of uncertainty as the Senate process played out. The bill includes $16.9 million that will be paired with $14 million allocated to the Department of Health and Human Resources for social services to raise the reimbursement rate for all foster families and create a new tiered reimbursement system that provides more funds for families who take on hard-to-place children, such as teenagers.
The House amended the Senate version of the bill Saturday. Along with two technical changes, the House changed the age limit for scattered living sites from 16 to 17 and added a request for the state Supreme Court of Appeals to review their policies for guardians ad litem, the court-appointed attorneys for children in abuse and neglect cases.
The Senate accepted the changes made by the House. The bill now awaits a signature from the governor.
Along with the rate increases, the bill establishes a foster child and foster/kinship parent bill of rights and expands reasonable and prudent parenting standards.
The bill passed the House with one nay vote, Del. Pat McGeehan, R-Hancock, who works in child welfare. McGeehan argued the bill just “threw money at the problem” without addressing the underlying issues causing the foster care system to be in crisis. …