Sen. Jay Taylor, R-Taylor, calls for a broader investigation into the death of 11-year-aged Miana Moran during a speech on the Senate floor in Charleston, West Virginia, on Tuesday, January 27, 2026. (Photo by Will Price/West Virginia Legislative Photography)
A state senator has called for more accountability in child protective services after workers visited the home of an 11-year-aged girl in Taylor County weeks before she was found lifeless, severely malnourished and wearing a pull-up diaper on the kitchen floor.
Governor Patrick Morrisey said An “internal investigation” into Miana Moran’s death in early 2025 is underway.
“She was a child made in the image of God and she deserved protection,” cfHelp Sen. Jay Taylor, R-Taylor, Tuesday in the Senate. “We cannot accept the system in which the agency conducts its own investigations behind closed doors and elects lawmakers who cannot confirm that children are truly protected.”
WCHS first reported Last week CPS made numerous visits to the home of Miana Moran, however, took no action before the child’s death in early 2025. These details were shared by the prosecutor who is currently leading a murder case related to her death.
“If these reports are accurate, West Virginians are right to ask obvious and legitimate questions: ‘How did this happen?'” Taylor said.
“We have failed in our responsibility to our children. It is difficult to say, but it is necessary to say it,” he continued.
Miana Moran weighed 43 pounds when she died early last year. A coroner said the girl had head lice, a yellowish discoloration of the skin, “visibly protruding” bones due to her extreme thinness and numerous bruises and cuts on her body. Miana Moran was enrolled in the Upshur County Schools virtual program in 2021.
Shannon Robinsona guardian of the girl and the biological father of the child, Aaron James Moranwere arrested and charged with the girl’s murder.
Senate members observed a moment of silence for Miana Moran.
Taylor said legislation was being drafted to bring about “meaningful reform” in response to the girl’s death. He called for greater legislative visibility for the CPS without compromising the privacy of children’s cases.
“We will not continue to accept a system in which the public doesn’t just know what went wrong when a child is dead,” Taylor said. “Now is the time to reform child protective services in the state – not with rhetoric, not with excuses, but with accountability, transparency and responsibility worthy of the trust West Virginians place in us.”
In 2024, 14-year-aged Kyneddi Miller was found dead in a skeletal state at her home in Boone County. Reporters uncovered the CPS and West Virginia State Police were aware of this von Miller before her death; State nursing facility officials said they had no records a referral that could have triggered an investigation. After one controversial investigation In this situation, the Department of Human Services said it would tighten and change the process for reporting abuse and neglect how it is displayed these recommendations.
A current one Federal exam of the West Virginia foster care system showed that the state did not comply with investigative requirements in responding to most reports of child abuse and neglect during the period examined (October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024).
State legislature have introduced draft laws This session seeks to strengthen the accountability of the DoHS, which oversees West Virginia’s overwhelmed foster care system. A measure House Bill 4579would require CPS employees to wear a body camera when investigating reports of child abuse and neglect. The bill was sent to the House Judiciary Committee, where it has not yet been approved for consideration.
Morrisey announced his own proposed care reforms since he took office, including the increasing transparency of the struggling system.
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