Alex Mayer was appointed Secretary of the Ministry of Human Council in West Virginia on March 10, 2025 with the judiciary of the Senate of West Virginia by governor Patrick Morrisey. (Becomes price | west virginia legislative photography)
On a Thursday evening in Parkersburg, a group of residents gathered to discuss West Virginia Foster Care – a system that has to deal with thousands of children in care from top to bottom.
A moderator asked for care and biological parents, children’s aid workers, judges and others, to describe their experiences with the system.
Your answers: “challenge”. “Overwhelming.” “Traumatization.” “Broken.”
“Nobody would listen. Nobody would talk to me,” said Lisa Easter, who had more than 50 foster children in their house in 25 years.
Julie Jones stopped promoting the protection services for children without checking a newborn in her care. She received an empty birth certificate and concerned whether the state was aware of the child’s whereabouts. “I couldn’t do it anymore,” she said.
In the corner of the room, the new Ministry of Human Services, Alex Mayer, listened to when people described a frustrating system that maintains with inconsistencies, lack of personnel, an overwhelmed judicial system, restricted support and children who have become victims of everything.
Mayer, who came from South Dakota, believes that it can be repaired. It will take time, he says, but the work is underway. It focuses on accountability, transparency and the exploit of processes that are not available for the consistency. He wants more programs in states that can support children with behavioral health struggles.
“It will be incremental over time,” said Mayer. “I think it will be a long way until we have addressed everything confidently … You will soon see some really positive steps here.”
A federal judge recently said West Virginia’s care system suffered from “shocking neglect” and “bureaucratic indifference”.
There is a Lack of social workersPresent Support services and sure Houses for children In a state that can remove children from houses the fastest Terminate parental rights. Too many children have landed Life in hotel roomsand the state issued $ 70 million last year Send foster children to group houses outside the state.
“What was shocking to me was the number of children in care,” said Mayer.
There is more than 6.100 a.m. Children In West Virginia Foster Care, and the number was upset during the state’s drug crisis. The state’s high poverty rate has also contributed to the number.
Governor Patrick Morrisey appointed the 37-year-old Mayer to monitor Dohs.
Mayer has to deal with the Trump administration with provasive care problems suggests cuts for programs This serves families in poverty and helps children in need of protection. The state had a decline in federal financing and have an impact on programs such as Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which is intertwined by the well -being of children. Dohs also monitors Medicaid, Snap and more.
“The well -being of children is a very complicated, complex system, and there are many different players that … obviously increases the level of complexity,” said Mayer. “I was really on purpose and just tried to learn the system.”
On May 15, 2025, the residents of Wood County attend a hearing session of child hearing bond in the Wood County Resilience Center in Parkersburg, W.VA. (Amelia Ferrell Knisely | West Virginia clock)
“I only have a passion to help”
Mayer, who was adopted, spent time in the military before working in a residential facility in which people with sedate mental illnesses served, which he later worked in the state government of South Dakota and dealt with Snap and Kindsfürsen.
“Different steps in my life took me this way,” he said. “Over time, I have just developed this passion for solving problems that I think by nature she has naturally created this wish to support families and children. I only have a passion for help.”
He has spent the recent months to travel the state meeting with his employees, to visit residential institutions and to understand how the system works.
The federal government continues his supervision by West Virginia’s care system after it was characterized by too many children with disabilities in group houses. The state still sends children with disabilities at a speed of group houses and treatment centers The national average three times.
Seventy two hundred Children are removed from their biological families in sub-state institutions in the district-old miles because the state does not have enough state beds that can meet the intricate needs of children. The state’s CPS employees have to visit children once a month.
Mayer said that he was investigating where the state could enhance specialized care, e.g.
“We have no placements for these children. Well, that’s no longer an option,” he said. “And if these placements are not here … then we have to find a way to achieve this, because for various reasons we want to keep children as close as possible to their support network.”
There is a lack of foster families and Mayer hopes to strengthen the recruitment and support services.
He noticed that a blatant lack of debt school and summer programs for juvenile people, which could be useful to support working parents in adolescents. Young people between the ages of 13 and 17 are the most common age group in state care.
There is also a need to create agency processes that consistently breed throughout the state, said Mayer. Children’s aid cases are a number of stakeholders -judges, lawyers, CPS workers and others -who all have an opinion and sometimes decision -making about the future of a child.
“I think our exercise model is one of these pieces that need real work,” he said.
At the beginning of this year, Mayer pushed for an invoice sponsored by the Republican, which ultimately failed that what would have been an external examination commissioned of the care system. Mayer jury changes to the legislators without a study.
Potential federal financing changes under Trump
West Virginia’s care system is based on the financing of the federal and state governments, and there is a certain unpredictability in the expenditure due to children who fluctuate in care and increasing price outside the state.
Legislators who have to struggle in recent years Get the agency’s expensesprompted more than $ 300 million to promote supply in their recently adapted budget. Your 2026 Household bill Prescribed that Dohs spends some money on designated positions to prevent the agency from switching money to pay invoices. But Morrisey Veto against this idea say It was too restrictive for Dohs.
The Republican governor who also wants to rule in government spending Veto advertising booking financing For programs that support babies who were born with newborns abstinence syndrome and foster children.
Mayer said that at the moment he does not believe that the department needs additional funds to tackle the crisis. It is likely to be based on partnerships with the faith community, companies, companies and others who offer services to support children and families, he said.
“I think we just have to pay more attention to what it will take?” he said. “I don’t know what this financing would be or whether it has to be something.”
The federal financing of the state could change because the Republicans proposed in Washington Cuts to snap and Medicaid – a program that provides West Virginia Foster Children and health insurance and health insurance Half of all children in the state.
“We really watched this carefully,” said Mayer about the potential changes in the federal government.
This month he has traveled through the state to hear additional nursing care in cities such as Beckley, Burlington and Wheeling to hear from families, CPS workers and others. It is crucial, he said. The external company that heads the meetings will create a report on problems and potential solutions.
“I am excited to see, you know what we can achieve here,” he said.
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