Safe at Home West Virginia

By Jessica Holstein

According to the Child Welfare League of America’s 2015 report, West Virginia had 36,884 total referrals for child abuse and neglect in 2013. That same year, 4,389 children in West Virginia lived apart from their families in out-of-home care.

Under the leadership of Cabinet Secretary Karen Bowling, the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) was granted a federal waiver to allow the department’s Bureau for Children and Families more flexibility in delivering services to youth and their families. This led to the implementation of a new approach called Safe at Home West Virginia, which focuses on serving children between the ages of 12-17 with behavioral health needs in their home communities.

The goals of the Safe at Home project are to ensure youth remain in their home communities whenever safely possible; reduce reliance on foster care and group care and prevent re-entries into group care. Safe at Home also works to reduce the number of children in out-of-state treatment and reunite these children with their families and communities.

These goals are being accomplished by using the national wraparound model, a planning process that helps ensure youth grow up in their homes and neighborhoods. With help from a wraparound facilitator, key players in the child’s family work together to coordinate activities and blend perspectives of all individuals who are part of the family unit.

Bowling has expressed passion when it comes to making a difference in the lives of West Virginia’s youth. “I appreciate the faithful support of our communities as we strive to provide wraparound services to children, family members, caregivers and foster parents to support developing and maintaining a stable and loving environment,” she says. “Safe at Home West Virginia is an initiative that is very near and dear to my heart. West Virginia’s youth are the future.”

The DHHR is working with its partners to develop community services specifically targeted at youths’ needs while also addressing the comprehensive needs of the family. In creating informal services, stronger children, stronger families and stronger communities are built.

While the department is working hard to make improvements for West Virginia’s children and families, community engagement and partnerships are key. Through collaboration with courts, schools, behavioral health providers, residential providers, state and local lawmakers and community leaders, this program is revolutionizing the child welfare system.

Since phase one implementation in October 2015, 172 youths have been referred to Safe at Home West Virginia for wraparound services. Of those, 17 have returned to the state; 25 have moved from in-state residential placements back to their home communities and 49 have been prevented from entering residential placement.

Lives like that of a young man who spent eight years in residential treatment facilities are being impacted. After being referred to Safe at Home, staff traveled 13 hours to bring this child back to his home state of West Virginia. He’s now thriving in a foster placement and has expressed how much he loves his new family. To help him adjust to public school, his teachers have worked closely with the wraparound facilitator to develop a transition plan. While it is uncertain where the supports and guidance offered through the Safe at Home program will take him, it is evident that he has an improved opportunity to lead a safe, healthy and successful life right here in the Mountain State.

Another young man was in and out of residential placements for more than a year. While at these facilities, he was not cooperative with treatment and often ran away. Last September, he left West Virginia to receive treatment. Upon considering the benefits of Safe at Home, the child was referred to the program and returned to his mother’s care. One of the Safe at Home wraparound facilitators worked with the mother to help her effectively guide the child. This wraparound facilitator also worked with the child’s school to develop an appropriate education plan. Safe at Home West Virginia brought this youth back to a familiar setting, but it isn’t the same home he left. Now that his mother understands how to help him, the family is stronger and able to deal with his problems effectively.

Given the difference the program is making in the lives of so many children and their families, DHHR and its partners are expanding this project to 24 additional counties this summer. Phase two encompasses Barbour, Brooke, Grant, Greenbrier, Hampshire, Hancock, Hardy, Harrison, Lewis, Marion, Mercer, Mineral, Monongalia, Monroe, Nicholas, Ohio, Pendleton, Pocahontas, Preston, Randolph, Summers, Taylor, Tucker and Upshur counties. The Department’s long-term goal is to serve 12-17 year olds and their families in all 55 counties over the course of the next two years.

About the Author

Jessica Holstein is a communications specialist for the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources. A native of Charleston, she holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature from West Virginia State University and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in integrated marketing communications from West Virginia University.