Gov. Jim Justice on Wednesday walked back his earlier comments that Child Protective Services knew nothing about a girl who was found in a “skeletal condition” on the bathroom floor of her Boone County home last month.
“Whatever happened to us and what shouldn’t have happened, we basically have lawyers who are there [West Virginia Department of Human Resources] and they screw it up,” Justice said during a virtual press conference. “And when they give us information, we have to act on the information they give us.”
The Department of Human Services, formerly DHHR, came under scrutiny for failing to provide information about whether CPS knew about it 14-year-old Kyneddi Miller before her April 17th Death.
While the DoHS relies on children’s privacy laws to evade questions, state lawmakers are increasingly frustrated by it persistent deficiency Information about the state worried child welfare system and CPS deficiencies.
The Republican governor previously said that CPS I wasn’t aware of the girl before her death.
“I don’t dodge questions… Will I stand behind what I said two weeks ago now that I know the information that I know today? Absolutely not,” Justice said in response to a question from WSAZ reporter Curtis Johnson about the girl’s death and the state’s subsequent response.
Citing state and federal children’s privacy laws, DoHS disputed Inquiries from West Virginia Watch and other media outlets seeking CPS referrals and travel records pertaining to the deceased child.
The requests were made under the Freedom of Information Act.
DoHS and Justice are currently embroiled in a class action lawsuit legal action on the administration of the child welfare system. The lawsuit, filed in 2019, alleged the state’s mistreatment of thousands of foster children and the overburdening of CPS staff.
In addition, CPS fought Promptly investigate allegations of child abuse and neglect.
DoHS Cabinet Secretary Cynthia Persily said the department is reviewing other states’ laws that allow public disclosure of information following the death of a child due to abuse and/or neglect.
“We looked at other states’ laws that allow other states to disclose public information in different ways than we do,” she said.
The DoHS is currently publishing information on child deaths in its annual report “Critical Incident Report.”
Lawmakers have said those reports were distributed too long after the tragic events and that the document did not contain enough information to make possible changes to the child welfare system.
