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Kidjacked | Jacked Up
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In Louisiana, a study conducted in conjunction with a civil suit found that 21 percent of abuse or neglect cases involved foster homes. West Virginia CPS News Archive
The West Virginia news section is your source for the latest in family rights news items,
CPS reform efforts, open court demands, abolition of confidentiality laws that judges
hide behind, foster care deaths and issues, legal cases and more... Please
Email Kidjacked
with news and information from the state of West Virginia and I will include it here in our
coverage.
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West Virginia News Coverage
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DHHR Secretary says W.Va. Experiencing child welfare crisis
by Andrea Lannom
CHARLESTON -- Department of Health and Human Resources Secretary Bill Crouch said the state is experiencing a child welfare crisis.
In a Tuesday presentation to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and Human Resources Accountability, Crouch said the DHHR is experiencing a record number of child protection referrals and removals from the home.
register-herald.com
August 22, 2017
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DHHR Secretary says W.Va. Experiencing child welfare crisis
by Andrea Lannom
Department of Health and Human Resources Secretary Bill Crouch said the state is experiencing a child welfare crisis.
In a Tuesday presentation to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and Human Resources Accountability, Crouch said the DHHR is experiencing a record number of child protection referrals and removals from the home.
register-herald.com
August 22, 2017
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Water Contamination Found Downstream of West Virginia Injection Well
by Casey Junkin
Researchers from the University of Missouri and Duke University say they found high levels of chemicals downstream from a West Virginia fracking wastewater disposal site, but industry leaders said this contamination is likely due to a surface spill.
"Approximately 36,000 of these disposal wells are currently in operation across the U.S., and little work has been done to evaluate their potential impacts on nearby surface water," said Christopher Kassotis, a postdoctoral fellow at Duke. "Given the large number of disposal wells in the U.S., it is critical for further investigation into the potential human and environmental health impacts."
theintelligencer.net
April 17, 2016
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College Student Kicked Out for Being Homeschooled
by Charlene Aaron
A West Virginia college student is back in the classroom after the school kicked him out because he was homeschooled.
In March, 22-year-old Jacob Berry was dismissed from West Virginia Junior College in Bridgeport. Berry was homeschooled by his father, Dr. Nathan Berry, and his mother, Cynthia Berry, who holds a lifetime teacher's license. Upon graduation, he worked a few odd jobs before deciding to study information technology at the local community college this past Fall.
cbn.com
April 14, 2015
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West Virginia girl, 6, found in vermin-infested home; mother, nanny charged
Police in Charleston have charged a mother and a nanny after a 6-year-old girl was found in a boarded-up home infested with roaches and bed bugs.
A criminal complaint in Kanawha County Magistrate Court says officers saw no food in the home for the girl, whose clothes were dirty and had bugs crawling in them. She has been placed in the care of Child Protective Services.
greenfieldreporter.com
August 1, 2014
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What Happens to Kids After Parents Are Arrested?
by Lauren McMillen
Every day parents are put behind bars, but one of the questions often left is what happens to the kids left behind? Deputies in our area have specific policies to make sure kids are safe and secure after the arrest of parents.
Right now, it's up to individual agencies to determine who looks after the kids. The Justice Department is in the process of rolling out improved guidelines nationwide. The goal is to adopt a universal plan to get all agencies on the same page. These new rules would ensure that kids are first placed with other family members, rather than social services. It would also make sure that child welfare authorities work along with officials.
wdtv.com
August 1, 2014
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Couple arrested for child neglect, drug charges in Huntington, WV
by Lucas Hannon
According to the West Virginia State Police in Huntington, WV, Dustin and Amanda Ogden, both 31-years-old, were arrested and charged with child neglect, possession with intent to deliver, and felony in possession of a firearm.
The West Virginia State Police says that the home's conditions were deplorable, in which the house was also filled with dog feces and various drug paraphernalia. Child Protective Services were called to the scene, and released the couple's kids to a relative.
wowktv.com
February 9, 2014
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State Child Protective Services: Ignored for too long
State residents really shouldn't have been surprised when a legislative audit found Child Protective Services inadequately performs its duties.
After all, the agency has been in the spotlight after several high-profile cases led to the deaths or serious injuries to children in various parts of the state. And let's face it, it's no secret that the department isn't adequately funded to keep workers motivated and happy. But residents should be shocked by the depth of the inequities, as well as state officials' inaction in dealing with the problems.
exponent-telegram.com
September 1, 2013
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Police say 2 young children removed from W.Va. home, seen touching, consuming human waste
ASHLAND, West Virginia - McDowell County police say two young children have been removed from an unsanitary home where they were seen handling and eating human excrement, and their parents have been arrested.
West said deputies went to the home where a Child Protective Services worker was trying to remove the children but had met resistance from the parents. The children are ages 1 and 2. West said the CPS worker witnessed the children touching and consuming human waste.
therepublic.com
August 22, 2013
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Audit shows problems with Child Protective Services
by Shauna Johnson
The list of issues found within Child Protective Services, which provides help to kids who are neglected or abused in West Virginia, is long.
A legislative audit focused on CPS, which is part of the Bureau for Children and Families in the state Department of Health and Human Resources, was detailed at the State Capitol earlier this week during August interims for lawmakers. The report found a high staff turnover, delays in investigations, shortfalls in recruiting and retaining workers and little willingness to change.
wvmetronews.com
August 22, 2013
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McDowell parents arrested after children found eating excrement
Two children were removed Thursday from a McDowell County home after a Child Protective Services worker found children living in conditions that allowed them to handle and eat human excrement.
The McDowell County Sheriff's Office was dispatched to the incident, according to a release from Sheriff Martin B. West. The complaint was called in as a Child Protective Services worker in need of immediate assistance at a residence in the Ashland area of McDowell County.
bdtonline.com
August 21, 2013
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Deputies Arrest Two People They Said Made Meth Where Young Child Was Living
by Bethany Simmons
Fayette County deputies arrested two people they said were operating a methamphetamine lab inside a home where a young child was living.
Dennis Brooks, Jr., 29, and Shannon Phillips, 23, both of the Sewell Mountain area were charged with operating a clandestine drug laboratory and child endangerment. Deputies discovered the meth lab about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at a mobile home on U.S. 60 in the Sewell Mountain area, about three miles east of Rainelle.
wchstv.com
August 14, 2013
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Charleston women in jail following bizarre child abuse incident
by Lisa Robbins, Alanna Autler
When Darnell Styles saw the picture of his 4-month-old baby with a knife, he panicked. "If you get a picture like that what do you think?" said Styles, 22, who lives in New York.
Styles called 911 when he received these messages Wednesday. Another picture shows the toddler with a red stain on his chest. Styles' three children live with their mother, Meleny Kranwinkle, in Charleston. On Thursday, officers arrested Meleny Kranwinkle, 23 and her sister, Cecile Kranwinkle, 22, in connection with the text messages.
wowktv.com
June 21, 2013
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Fayetteville man convicted of sex crimes
by C.V. Moore
FAYETTEVILLE - A Fayetteville man who faced trial this month for 18 felony offenses of sex crimes against children has been convicted of all charges.
The trial of John Russell Stover, 34, began Wednesday, May 15 in Fayette County Circuit Judge John Hatcher's courtroom and wrapped up the following day. The jury, which deliberated for about an hour, handed down guilty verdicts for nine counts of first degree sexual assault and nine counts of abuse by a parent, guardian or custodian.
fayettetribune.com
May 23, 2013
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Lunchtime rundown: CPS cases down
On average, the state Division of Child Protective Services are responding to about 800 fewer cases per month than five years ago. Agency officials are crediting a new process for responding to potential child abuse cases.
The state's Safety Assessment and Management System (SAMS) has been in place for three years. It breaks response into three-step process: an "intake assessment," , a "family functioning assessment" and a "family case plan evaluation." Click here to read about the statistics, and CPS's process for responding to reported abuse or neglect cases.
blogs.dailymail.com
May 15, 2013
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Efforts to prevent child abuse in state are working, experts say
by Erin Beck
CLARKSBURG - Adults are responsible for preventing child abuse, not children. As prevention efforts have embraced that concept in recent years, child abuse has decreased in West Virginia and nationwide, according to those working in the field.
State Division of Health and Human Resource's child protective services records indicate that reports of child abuse and neglect in West Virginia have declined from about 1 in 50 children in 2005 to 1 in 73 children in 2011.
exponent-telegram.com
April 8, 2013
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Georgia Program Reopens Foster Care Cold Cases
by Maggie Lee
In far north Georgia, 17-year-old "Brandon" lives in a group home. He has been the ward of two states in his short life. Put up for adoption in Tennessee, adopted, then abandoned in Georgia. He's been in foster care for eight years.
There are somewhere between 250 and 300 kids like Brandon in Georgia: foster youths whose lives are stuck in a slide toward aging out of the foster system and into potential homelessness or prison, and with no connection with any family. They also risk a plain lack of success.
youthtoday.org
April 8, 2013
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Longtime judge joins W.Va. forum on child abuse
TRIADELPHIA, W.Va. (AP) - A longtime Ohio County Circuit Court judge and other experts on child welfare will discuss how to prevent and address child abuse during a forum at West Liberty University.
The event is set for Friday afternoon at the Highlands Campus in Triadelphia. It will feature Senior Status Judge Arthur Recht and Susan Harrison, executive director of CASA for Children Inc.
sfgate.com
April 1, 2013
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Experts: Drugs fueling child abuse in WV
by Vicki Smith
MORGANTOWN -- Children are dying from abuse and neglect at a higher rate in West Virginia than any other state, a problem that judges, social workers and others say is fueled by rampant substance abuse.
Without a sufficient statewide safety net of suitable foster care, adoptive families, in-home services and community-based prevention and treatment programs for addicted parents and their children, abuse victims are all too likely to repeat what they have learned.
herald-dispatch.com
January 7, 2013
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Lower WV Child Abuse, Illegal Drug Use
by David "Alligator" Williams
A report out of Morgantown, WV has finally stated that West Virginians must curb drugs to stop child abuse. I am very glad to hear that. I always knew it, but I am glad anytime that anyone from the government or legal system admits we have a problem.
Because to me, one of the biggest problems in West Virginia is that the government denies a drug problem, because they do not want to be blamed for it. While we are at it, I wish someone would admit that we must curb drugs to stop the increasing breaking and entering surge. We must curb drugs to stop the increase in armed robberies. We also must curb drugs to increase work productivity. We must curb drugs to lower our high school dropout rate.
huntingtonnews.net
January 7, 2013
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Fighting child abuse
by Sarah Plummer
At the Just For Kids second annual recognition dinner, Executive Director Scott Miller noted that child abuse and neglect has dropped nationwide for the fifth straight year.
But while the progress is good to see, Miller reminded those present that the national numbers are still staggering, with 61,000 children reporting sexual abuse each year in the United States. Just For Kids estimates only one in 10 children reports abuse, which means as many as 600,000 children are sexually abused each year nationally.
register-herald.com
January 7, 2013
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Bags aim to make transition to foster homes easier
by Ashley B. Craig
A few years ago, a young West Virginia boy was finally able to get out of his abusive home and into foster care. Ready for a new start, the boy hurriedly packed his meager belongings.
He didn't have a duffel bag or suitcase, so he stuffed what little he had into a garbage bag. When he arrived at his foster home, he found garbage inside the bag instead of his belongings. In his haste, the boy grabbed the wrong bag. This story has stuck with U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin ever since a child caseworker told it to him two years ago. It's also spurred him to action.
dailymail.com
November 23, 2012
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Police, foster agency team up
PARKERSBURG - For the second year, the Parkersburg Police Department is partnering with Try-Again Homes, in an effort to help approximately 55 Parkersburg area foster children have a great Christmas.
Try-Again Homes (TAH) is a nonprofit foster care agency located in Parkersburg and Fairmont. Beginning Monday, new and unwrapped gifts for these children can be dropped off at the Parkersburg City Park police substation between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Monday - Friday.
newsandsentinel.com
November 1, 2012
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Forced Vaccinations: Stepping Into Eugenics?
by Heidi Stevenson
What are the implications of forcing vaccinations on people? Two states allow no exemptions to any child for religious or philosophical reasons. People lose their jobs if they don't acquiesce. It's for the 'greater good', of course-just as eugenics is.
Vaccinations are being forced on people. Children are refused entrance to school if they haven't complied with the government-defined vaccine schedule. Two states, West Virginia and Mississippi, do not accept either religious or philosophical exemptions. State after state is making it harder, often to the point of virtual impossibility, for parents to refuse to have their children vaccinated. More and more, people are being told that they must be vaccinated or lose their jobs. We are seeing more and more cases of parents threatened with loss of their children if they don't submit them for vaccinating.
gaia-health.com
October 23, 2012
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Out In the Cold: At Age 18, Foster Care Children Face Lonely Road
by Casey Junkins
Turning 18 years of age is a time of celebration for many young people because a relatively smooth transition from high school into higher education, the work force or military service likely awaits them.
But for foster care children who turn 18 without being adopted, attaining legal adult status can sometimes send them down a dark and lonely path with an uncertain future. Children enter the foster care system for a variety of reasons, Toothman said, but he noted the most common reasons are abuse or neglect on the part of the biological parents.
theintelligencer.net
October 14, 2012
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Alert Kidjacked to West Virginia CPS news!
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Jacked Up: Wake Up America!
by Annette Hall
You people haven't heard anything yet! Here in Mingo County, West Virginia, the tail end of everything, my child was removed from our home Wednesday evening just because the CPS worker - get this now - "heard" from somebody that my wife is bi-polar.
Kidjacked
May 15, 2010
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Jacked Up: Confidentiality Protects State
by Annette Hall
State workers often turn deaf ear to abuse reports made by parents who's children have been Kidjacked by the state and reside with strangers in foster care.
Kidjacked
May 15, 2010
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