Nicci Hawkins, a licensing specialist with the Necco Office in Fairmont, W.Va., works to recruit foster families in the five counties that she serves. (Amelia Ferrell Knisely | West Virginia Watch)
FAIRMONT, W.Va. — West Virginia is still struggling to recruit enough foster families, resulting in children staying in hotels or shelters because there are no available homes.
In the first week of October, the Necco Foster Care office in Fairmont received 91 referrals — totaling more than 100 kids — for children in the area in need of a safe home. Employees were able to find homes for only two children.
Nicci Hawkins, a licensing specialist with the Necco Office in Fairmont, said the biggest challenge is finding families who can take siblings and older youth.
“It sounds so sad, but 6 and older is considered older youth in foster care,” she said. “You think of a 6-year-old and you think of this little child, but in foster care that’s typically considered a little older.”
She continued, “We have a lot of kids that are in shelters simply because of their age.”
West Virginia’s foster care system has struggled to keep up with the high rate of kids who have entered it during the last decade. State leaders have increased pay for Child Protective Services workers and reimbursement rates for foster families in an effort to fill critical roles, but shortfalls, in part, led to a class-action lawsuit about the state’s troubled foster care system.
Necco’s Fairmont office serves families in North Central West Virginia, including Marion and Monongalia counties — two of the only handful counties in the state where the population is growing.
Child welfare experts say a family setting is best for children in foster care compared to an institution or group home.
Recruiting foster families remains a challenge, Hawkins said.
“I could not imagine being a child who is possibly sitting in an office waiting for another home to go to whenever you have been taken from your home… you’re sitting in an office by yourself, and possibly just hearing over and over again that you’re being denied a home,” she said.
Del. Adam Burkhammer, R-Lewis, is a foster parent who has advocated for better state support for foster families. (Perry Bennett | West Virginia Legislative Photography)
Shortage of foster homes statewide
There are more than 6,000 children in West Virginia foster care, and the state leads the nation in the rate of children coming into care. The state’s high poverty rate and substance use crisis contributed to the number of children in need of safe homes.
At the start of 2023, there were on average 1,427 certified foster homes in West Virginia. Only 25% of these homes reported a willingness to accept youth ages 13 or older, according to the Department of Human Services.
Del. Adam Burkhammer, R-Lewis, is a foster parent who is licensed through the Necco Fairmont office. He said the number of foster families has decreased statewide.
Some of it is due to families closing their homes due to adoptions, Burkhammer said, but there is still a pressing need.
“The number one, essential need for the child welfare system is foster families. Without them, the entire system begins to crumble. As the government, as a Legislature, we have to figure out how we support our most valuable resource,” he said.
When family-like foster homes are unavailable, children can end up in out-of-state group homes and in-state emergency shelters. There are 160 youth shelter beds in the state, according to Hawkins.
DoHS spends $2.1 million annually on temporary housing, including hotels, for foster children. The price tag includes meals and staff overtime as the state requires Child Protective Service workers to stay with children in hotel rooms.
The department launched a campaign in March to recruit more foster families.
“Expanding our state’s pool of available foster parents will positively impact the children in need of stable, secure homes, and in turn, impact the future of our entire state,” DoHS Secretary Cynthia Persily said in a press release.
Hawkins said her office participates in community events, puts out yard signs and more in hopes of recruiting foster families.
“We are trying really hard to get as many families as possible, and we are trying to bring awareness of the need of families who can take sibling groups [and] families who are willing to take older youth, because that’s who we need homes for the most,” she said.
Burkhammer and his wife became licensed foster parents in 2020 and adopted a daughter through foster care.
“We got involved because we wanted to help,” he said. “Kids are kids. They need love, they need care, they need a safe place to sleep and food. When you can provide those things, you’re going to see a reward.”
He’d like to see the state consider raising the reimbursement rate for foster families; the Legislature last increased the rate in 2020.
“With this very sharp rise in inflation, we should probably consider an increase in the subsidies for families to open their homes,” Burkhammer said. “We can better support families outside of those funds by better communication, therapy and other services that support families that will make them want to foster.”
Hawkins stressed that Necco is there to support foster families through any challenges. She said many people are unaware that single individuals and same-sex couples can foster in the state.
“I always tell families that even if you have one extra bed, that is one child that you are able to help, and you’re not going to be doing it by yourself,” she said. “You are going to have the support of our agency, or whatever agency that you go with.”
YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE.