State’s first ‘crisis nursery’ aims to prevent kids from entering WV foster care

by Amelia Ferrell Knisely, West Virginia Watch
June 9, 2025

The state’s first “crisis nursery,” which will provide child care to parents who are dealing with emergencies, is set to open early next year in Ohio County.

The program through Holy Family Child Care and Development Center aims to keep children from entering the state’s overburdened foster care system while helping parents who may be experiencing overwhelming situations like evictions or mental health crises.

Village Crisis Nursery will provide emergency, short-term shelter up to 72 hours care for up to eight children.

“A mom could drop her child up to 72 hours to do all the necessary paperwork to get housing and not get evicted,” said Terra Crews, founder of Village Crisis Nursery and executive director for Holy Family Child Care.

“Child care is crucial to the success of foster care. It is also crucial for family preservation,” she continued. “Family preservation should be at the top of our list when it comes to preventing child neglect and abuse.”

West Virginia has more than 6,100 children in an overwhelmed foster care system. There’s also a shortage of child care centers, and more than 25,000 kids don’t have access to child care. Some counties don’t have a single licensed child care center.

The facility will serve families at high risk of involvement with the child welfare system as well as foster and kinship families who may need respite care.

“Foster care parents don’t get maternity or paternity leave, and they have a rotating door that is open to every child, but they still need to work and provide for those families and wait for those payments,” Crews said.

She spent five years researching the use of crisis nurseries before officially announcing the program. The nearest similar facilities are located in Pittsburgh, Pa., and Cleveland, Ohio. The program looks to fill a “critical gap in services.”

“It just became more obvious that there is a need for more support for families for respite and emergency services,” she said.

The center will operate in a building in Wheeling owned by the Diocese of Wheeling-
Charleston, which also houses St. John’s Home for Children and the Ohio County Family
Resource Center.

“Village Crisis Nursery represents the kind of compassionate, community-driven response that
reflects our mission at Catholic Charities West Virginia. By providing a safe place for children
during moments of family crisis, we are helping to preserve dignity, prevent trauma, and
strengthen families across our region,” Mark Phillips, president and CEO of Catholic
Charities West Virginia, said in a statement.

Crews has secured $20,000 donated by the Sisters of St. Joseph Health and Wellness Foundation, and the Schenk Foundation has contributed an additional $30,000 for the center. She is also working with the state Department of Human Services on licensing the facility.

Fundraising continues, Crews said, and Holy Family is seeking donations, sponsorships and grant funding for Village Crisis Nursery that would cover facility renovations, staffing, licensing and more.

She hopes to receive state funding for the program as Gov. Patrick Morrisey and lawmakers seek to tackle the state’s foster care crisis.

Crews wants the crisis nursery model to be replicated throughout the state.

West Virginia Watch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. West Virginia Watch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Leann Ray for questions: info@westvirginiawatch.com.