UPDATE (3:00 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 24): The West Virginia DHHR provided the following update regarding delayed payments for foster care families and agencies:
Payments have been made to the following groups:
- Non-certified kinship
- Adoption subsidies
- Social Necessary Services Providers
- Legal guardianship subsidies
- Child Placing Agencies
- Certified Kinship and Relative Caretakers
Payments that may have been processed or will be processed early next week:
- Residential Providers
- Independent Living and Transitional Living
- Adult Services
The DHHR says they are continuing to work with agencies and people that may have missing information that may be causing a delay in their payment forms being processed.
Affected agencies or individuals with questions may contact DHHR’s Client Services at 1-800-642-8589, or email dhhrbcfcs@wv.gov, Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. For emergencies, people should contact their local DHHR office.
CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) — The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) says a glitch in their system is causing a delay in foster families and agencies receiving their February 2023 checks.
The DHHR says there is some progress on resolving the issues.
Dr. Jeff Coben, Interim Secretary with the DHHR, says that they understand how this impacts families in the state, but they are working to fix the problem.
Dr. Coben says they will try everything to help the families affected.
“We understand the impact that this has on families and are devoted to correcting this as quickly as possible,” Dr. Coben says.
Marissa Sanders, Executive Director for the West Virginia Foster Adoptive and Kinship Parents Network, says this is a problematic situation.
“Oftentimes, children are removed from families who are struggling financially. So then to have the state not meet its financial obligations to those children is extremely problematic,” Sanders says. “We have many, many families who have been significantly impacted.”
The DHHR says payments should return to their normal schedule in March 2023.
You can also reach out to your local DHHR office for help. Click here to find your DHHR office.
