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West Virginia Department of Human Services cites decreases in CPS vacancies

Department of Human Services Cabinet Secretary Alex Mayer, right, speaks at a press conference last week with Department of Health Secretary Dr. Arvin Singh, left, and Gov. Patrick Morrisey, middle. (Photo by Steven Allen Adams)

CHARLESTON — His first week as West Virginia’s cabinet secretary for the Department of Human Services, Alex Mayer was being summoned to Ritchie County by a circuit judge to man a shift as a Child Protective Services worker. But now, Mayer is citing decreases in child welfare vacancies.

In a press release Thursday morning, the Department of Human Services (DoHS) cited decreases in the number of Child Protective Services (CPS) employees, from a rate of 12.1% at the beginning of January to 8.5% as of Sept. 1. That is also down from 27.3% in 2023 when CPS vacancies were at peak levels.

Mayer said CPS turnover rates have also improved under Gov. Patrick Morrisey, with the 2025 turnover rate sitting at 15%, down from 22.7% in 2024 and more than 34% in 2021.

“Our workforce is the foundation of child welfare,” Mayer said in a statement. “By continuing to reduce vacancies and turnover, we are strengthening stability not only for our frontline staff, but also for the children and families who depend on them. We remain focused on giving our workforce the tools, training, and support they need to be successful in this critically important work.”

In the release, Mayer focused on CPS vacancies in Doddridge, Pleasants, Upshur, Lewis, and Ritchie counties, where DoHS conducted targeted initiatives following issues raised by Third Judiciary Circuit Court Judge Tim Sweeney in February. According to DoHS, vacancy rates in that five-county area were reduced from 44% on Jan. 1 to 14.3% as of the end of June.

In an order issued on Feb. 3, Sweeney appointed several state Department of Human Services and Bureau of Social Services officials to report to the Ritchie County Courthouse on Feb. 20 and receive assignments as CPS workers. Officials ordered to appear were Mayer, Deputy Commissioner Laurea Ellis, special consultant Kim Ricketts, General Counsel Chanin Krivonyak and Bureau of Social Services Commissioner Lorie Bragg.

Sweeney conducted interviews with The Parkersburg News and Sentinel and WV MetroNews regarding his February order, which he later canceled after meeting with Mayer and working out an agreement.

Sweeney was admonished in June by the West Virginia Judicial Investigation Commission, which accusedhim of violating four rules of the Code of Judicial Conduct, including violations related to his February order, public statements and social media activity concerning an ongoing child abuse and neglect case.

Despite the alleged violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct, the commission found that formal discipline against Sweeney and and another judge were not necessary given their impeccable judicial records and lack of previous punishments, choosing instead to publicly admonish them. Sweeney filed a formal objection to his admonishment in July

The admonishment came following abuse and neglect hearings in October 2024 and Feb. 3, after a CPS worker testified that the agency was overworked and understaffed, causing local workers to not meet court-ordered deadlines. Sweeney’s order requiring DoHS officials to report to Ritchie County came following these hearings.

A look at vacancy rates for the counties cited by Mayer in the DoHS Child Welfare Dashboard found that Ritchie County still has vacancy issues. The county is supposed to have five employees, but only has two. Lewis County, which is supposed to have six workers, only has four. But Doddridge, Pleasants and Upshur counties all have zero vacancies.

State Code 49-2-102 requires the commissioner of the Bureau of Social Services to allocate and assign CPS workers by county based on population, the number of case referrals, and average case load. The law was last updated by Senate Bill 273 in 2023. The Bureau for Social Services and CPS has been struggling with worker shortages for many years, with one former commissioner in 2021 saying CPS was at the “breaking point.”

DoHS said the department has implemented a mentorship program with CPS workers, which teams new workers with experienced employees to help new CPS workers better transition into their roles. The Bureau for Social Services has traveling Training, Technical Assistance, and Practical Application teams that offer one-on-one guidance and support for complex CPS cases.

The Bureau for Social Services has teamed up with the Marshall University Center of Excellence for Recovery for a new Trauma-Sensitive Workplace team to assist CPS workers as they help children and families experiencing significant trauma.

According to the DoHS Child Welfare Dashboard, CPS officials have received 10,753 child welfare referrals for the first half of the calendar year, with a 52.9% acceptance rate. Of those, 7.3% of referrals have been substantiated.

Steven Allen Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com.

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