Gov. Patrick Morrisey announces a proposed tax relief package that includes an income tax cut on Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in Charleston, West Virginia. (Photo courtesy of West Virginia Governor’s Office Patrick Morrisey)
Some community and technical colleges in West Virginia have been forced to cut staff focused on helping students access school supplies, food, clothing, bus passes and more as Gov. Patrick Morrisey is reviewing how the state uses its federal anti-poverty funds.
“Due to the delay in disbursing funds, some CTCs have had to eliminate their positions, while others may have the opportunity to temporarily fund these positions from other funding sources,” said Briana Warner, communications director at the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission.
“We know the state recognizes the tremendous value of these coordinators in keeping our post-secondary students in training programs and then into the workforce. We hope the funds will be distributed soon,” Warner said.
These people lend a hand students overcome any hurdles that might prevent them from completing their studies.
The positions at the state’s universities are financed through “bridging aid for needy families”, a focus Federal program for low-income families. TANF funds flow annually in the form of block grants to states, which have broad discretion in how to employ these funds.
Morrisey announced in May that TANF faces a structural deficit of $43 million due to increased government spending in the COVID era. The review could lead to cuts to some TANF-supported programs, including state child care program for working parents.
Lars Dalseide, the governor’s communications director, responded to questions for this story: ““The administration is working with the Legislature to address the $43 million deficit in TANF caused by an unsustainable reliance on COVID-era funding.”
“To correct this imbalance, all TANF programs will be reviewed,” he said.
The governor’s office or the Department of Human Services, which oversees the state’s TANF dollars, provided no additional information.
Senate Education Chairwoman Amy Grady, R-Mason, said in a telephone interview that she was not aware that TANF-funded positions at higher education institutions were affected by Morrisey’s spending review because the governor’s office has not communicated with lawmakers.
“We’re getting these updates pretty much at the same moment as everyone else… It’s not like we’re getting any advance warning about what his announcement is going to be, and that’s been the case throughout his entire administration, frankly,” Grady said. “It’s frustrating because we represent our constituents who are asking us for help and asking us questions, and we feel like we’ve done our job by putting the funding in the budget and we can’t give them an answer as to why there was a delay.”
Lawmakers have already approved $177 million in TANF funding for DoHS this fiscal year. Republicans in legislative leadership have maintained There is currently no reason that any TANF-funded program in West Virginia would be affected.
Campus TANF coordinators lend a hand at-risk students
Historically, all community and technical colleges in West Virginia have received annual federal funding for a TANF coordinator position.
““These individuals provide students with resources to help them overcome hurdles to completing their educational program, including, but not limited to: access to food, bus passes, clothing, school-related materials, mental health services, tutoring and connection to government assistance programs,” Warner said. “CTC TANF coordinators are typically the ones who run the campus food pantries and clothing closets, among many other duties.”
Grady said TANF coordinators have been instrumental in helping students who may not have believed post-secondary education was possible.
“For years we’ve been constantly talking about increasing our college or post-secondary rate. The (State Commission on Higher Education Policy Commission) Chancellor Sarah Tucker has done a great job of trying to implement programs and things to help with that,” Grady said. “It’s concerning because we’ve worked so hard to get these numbers up that I think this could potentially bring them back down.”
Josh Baker, president of Mountwest Community and Technical College in Huntington, West Virginia, said that despite the delay in funding, the college retained its TANF coordinator by using its own funds to cover salary.
He is positive that the funds will be released soon.
“We hope to be funded for these positions because their support is extremely impactful,” Baker said. “It provides valuable support to our at-risk students.”
The Governor’s Review of TANF Funding has recently caused a delay to pay out the state school clothing subsidy program. Applications for the program is opened July 20th.
