Morrisey approves $738K in emergency spending on out-of-state vendors to fix WV foster care

by Amelia Ferrell Knisely, West Virginia Watch
June 11, 2025

Under Gov. Patrick Morrisey, the state has spent more than $700,000 in emergency purchases in an effort to fix glaring issues in West Virginia’s foster care crisis.

The money was spent on out-of-state vendors to help with urgent needs that included licensing new foster families and delays in placing children in homes. The state— which is the fastest in the nation to remove children from homes — doesn’t have enough traditional foster homes, leading to some children being sent to out-of-state facilities or sleeping in hotels.

About half of the money was spent on a foster care “listening tour,” where Chicago-based Guidehouse advisory firm facilitated meetings around the state that brought together foster families, Child Protective Services workers, biological parents and more to air grievances and offer solutions for a laundry list of issues in the child welfare system. 

“Without immediate intervention, West Virginia risks further deterioration of its child welfare system, placing countless children at greater risk of harm. The crisis demands urgent attention from agencies and community stakeholders to ensure that every child in the state receives the protection and care they deserve,” the state Department of Human Services wrote in an emergency purchasing request earlier this year requesting $348,000 for the listening session facilitator. 

Emergency purchases permit state agencies to bypass the usual bidding process required in state government. DoHS said in its request that the traditional procurement process “would take too long and not align with the urgency required to address the crisis.” 

“The CPS crisis has escalated to a level that demands swift intervention,” the request continued. The listening tour wrapped up last month, and Guidehouse will produce a report this summer with its findings. 

Morrisey, through an executive order, is requiring his office to review any purchasing requests over $100,000 as he looks to reduce government spending and root out waste. 

Along with approving the funds for the listening tour, Morrisey also approved a $390,000 emergency purchase request in March from DoHS for a vendor “to provide solutions-driven approach” to improve the state’s foster care licensing and placement issue. 

“Governor Morrisey is committed to reforming the Child Welfare System and supports creative solutions to the many longstanding, inherited challenges,” Morrisey’s spokesperson told West Virginia Watch.  

The one-year contract was awarded to Change & Innovation Agency, according to DoHS. The agency is a Missouri-based consulting firm that specializes in child welfare, child care and more. 

The agency will be tasked with helping DoHS improve its process for licensing foster families as the state has a backlog of families who have applied to foster. They’ll also work on ensuring the state is in compliance with state and federal foster care guidelines. 

“DoHS looks forward to partnering with Change & Innovation Agency to address the time required to license new foster families, placement delays and administrative burdens while developing a sustainable framework for long-term system improvements,” said Angel Hightower, communications director for DoHS.

During the recent legislative session, Sen. Mike Stuart, R-Kanawha, called for an outside agency to audit the state’s foster care system, which is serving more than 6,100 kids with an ongoing shortage of CPS workers, in-state homes and mental health services for children.  The state spent nearly $70 million last fiscal year to house foster children in out-of-state facilities because the state doesn’t have the capacity to keep children close to home. 

Stuart also wanted a group to make recommendations for how DoHS could improve its foster care system. 

DoHS Secretary Alex Mayer pushed back on Stuart’s legislation, saying that he wanted to assess the problems himself after taking on the role at the beginning of the year. He also vowed changes to the troubled system. 

Mayer attended the listening tour sessions, saying that it was imperative he hear from people around the state about their experiences with the child welfare system.

Stuart paused his bill mandating the outside audit, and DoHS requested the outside group to help with placements in March before the legislative session adjourned. 

“The emergency procurement differs significantly in scope and intent,” Hightower said. “While Sen. Stuart’s bill proposed an external audit and study of the child welfare system, the department’s request focused on streamlining and improving foster care licensing and placement.”

On Monday, Stuart said bringing in an outside group to help with licensing foster families showed a serious approach under Morrisey in addressing the issues.

“I hope that my efforts have played a role in trying to fix a broken system. I applaud the governor’s office’s willingness to invest in our kids,” Stuart said. “I don’t care what form it comes in or who gets the credit, but I want to make sure and my focus is the child welfare system — making sure it works for our kids and our families.” 

He added, “I think there are a lot of people to blame here — administration after administration that didn’t pay proper attention to this issue.”

Stuart added that he expected more funding requests to address foster care problems. Lawmakers recently allocated more than $300 million in the upcoming budget for child welfare services; Morrisey cut 75% of lawmakers’ allocated funding to West Virginia’s Court Appointed Special Advocates, or CASA, a program that helps foster children in the court system, before signing the budget bill. 

Morrisey recently announced sweeping reforms to the state’s child welfare system that he said would end “years of bureaucratic stonewalling” from within the agency and begin a “new era of transparency.” 

The Republican governor attributed some of the changes to the recently-concluded DoHS listening tour.

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.