Gov. Jim Justice discusses his proposal for 10% personal income tax cut.

CHARLESTON – An audit of a massive department dealing with multiple health and social crises in West Virginia parts ways with the desire of lawmakers to split it into two.

Gov. Jim Justice released a report Thursday afternoon looking at the organization and structure of the state Department of Health and Human Resources after vetoing a bill earlier this year that would have divided DHHR into the Department of Health and the Department of Human Resources.

The McChrystal Group, a Virginia-based management services company co-founded by retired U.S. Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, was awarded a $1.08 million contract in June to conduct an organizational assessment and a strategic plan for DHHR.

“I sincerely thank the McChrystal Group for their work on this report, and for their expertise in analyzing this important agency,” Justice said in a statement. “I have the utmost faith in the great West Virginians who are employed by DHHR to rally together as a team and make the necessary changes to be a better organization for our state.”

The report found issues with DHHR’s structure, strategic focus, and its operational processes. It recommends developing action plans to implement department-wide objectives, establishing an executive leadership team to coordinate efforts between the department’s many bureaus, leadership development, improving communication, and putting more emphasis on administrative process improvements.

This $1 million consisted of 17 weeks for the McChrystal Group to complete the organizational assessment with assistance from the Human Services Research Institute and includes interviews with staff and stakeholder groups, surveys with employees, and document reviews. It took 12 weeks to complete the strategic plan.

One thing the McChrystal Group is adamant about: DHHR should not be split into two. House Bill 4020, passed during the 2022 legislative session, would have separated DHHR into the Department of Health and the Department of Human Resources. A 2014 audit under former governor Earl Ray Tomblin also called for breaking DHHR into two but was never acted on.

“To improve West Virginia’s health and human services outcomes, the status quo is not an option; DHHR requires bold organizational change,” the report stated. “Successfully executing an organizational change of this scope requires significant investment in change management. However, creating two separate departments is not the change required, as doing so would divert time, funding, and leadership’s focus away from serving West Virginians.

“Rather than addressing the root causes of DHHR’s challenges, a split would exacerbate them by shifting the focus of central office teams and bureau leaders away from improving their support to teams in the field and toward the administrative requirements of the split,” the report continued. “This shift in focus would disrupt DHHR’s ability to provide care and services to West Virginians.”

In his veto message earlier this year, Justice said that HB 4020 did not take into account the complexity of splitting the state’s largest department that manages more than $7 billion worth of state and federal funds and employs more than 4,900 full-time workers. He said Thursday he was pleased with the McChrystal Group’s recommendations.

“When I vetoed House Bill 4020, I committed to making our DHHR the best it can be so that our most vulnerable West Virginians are served with the highest degree of care,” Justice said. “I made the right decision to veto this bill in March 2022, and these national experts have confirmed my decision with their report.”

The West Virginia Legislature’s Joint Committee on Government and Finance made DHHR a focus over the summer, hiring former DHHR deputy secretary Jeremiah Samples as a staff member. Samples served as DHHR deputy secretary under cabinet Secretary Bill Crouch from 2017 until April, when Samples left the department citing differences of opinion with the direction the department was going in. His experience with the agency spans nearly 15 years.

DHHR has been on the frontlines of many societal issues in the state, including low national rankings in health outcomes, including bad rankings for obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, lung and heart disease. There were 1,504 confirmed drug overdose deaths in 2021 according to DHHR, a 12.6% increase from 1,336 confirmed overdose deaths in 2020. The foster care system has 6,421 children in placement with a high need for CPS workers.

“I have directed Secretary Crouch and his leadership team to immediately implement the McChrystal Group’s recommendations,” Justice said. “They will do so in an effective and efficient way and will ensure there is no lapse in any vital support or services for the West Virginians who rely on the DHHR. I will also work closely with the Legislature on changes to laws or funding that may be necessary to implement these changes.”