Erica Peterson

2 months ago | mountainstatespotlight.org | Erica Peterson

Support for this story came from the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism’s 2024 Data Fellowship and The Carter Center. Continued shortages: West Virginia is still struggling to hire and retain child welfare workers, with wide-reaching consequences for kids in the foster care system. Permanency: More than half of the kids who spent a year or more in West Virginia’s system between 2012-2022 experienced more than one placement.

2 months ago | mountainstatespotlight.org | Erica Peterson

Support for this story came from the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism’s 2024 Data Fellowship and The Carter Center. Locked up: West Virginia still sends kids with physical or emotional disabilities to group homes and treatment centers at a rate three times the national average, according to the most recent data available.

2 months ago | mountainstatespotlight.org | Erica Peterson

Over the last decade, there have been tens of thousands of words written about West Virginia’s foster care system. As an editor at Mountain State Spotlight, I’ve edited many of those words. I’ve read the stories about ongoing systemic dysfunction, and have occasionally been tempted to throw my hands up in the air. It’s such a mess, the problems are so huge, and no matter what changes, it seems kids are still getting hurt.

Jan 8, 2025 | mountainstatespotlight.org | Erica Peterson

West Virginia’s long-troubled foster care system will remain under federal scrutiny for an undetermined period of time, under a legal agreement quietly reached last month. The new agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice dials back some oversight provisions, but extends a mandate that the state Department of Human Services continue to fix systemic problems with West Virginia’s efforts to help foster kids with a wide variety of disabilities.

Jun 10, 2024 | mountainstatespotlight.org | Erica Peterson |La Shawn Pagan

In a rare move last week, top aides to Gov. Jim Justice faced the press to respond to growing concerns over the death of a 14-year-old Boone County girl. But while the press conference to talk about Kyneddi Miller’s death was unusual for the governor’s office, the tragic event is only the latest in a long string of red flags around West Virginia’s child welfare system.