While state officials are bending over backward to protect themselves -- rather than the children in their care -- the former deputy secretary of the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources is speaking out.
"There is just not enough transparency in the system to fill some level of assurance that while tragedies will always happen, at least we did our best as a state and a government to address them," Jeremiah Samples said during testimony in a class action lawsuit involving the state's foster care system. "And I don't believe we are at that stage right now."
Samples was fired by former cabinet secretary Bill Crouch in 2022 over policy disagreements.
Regarding the intentional veiling of whether Child Protective Services had any involvement with the case of a 14-year-old girl before she was found dead in Boone County earlier this year, Samples said: "...There are other cases like that -- heinous things. ... I mean, there's a lack of clarity frankly that how would we know, you know, in my official position or how would the public know?"
Exactly.
Department of Human Services Secretary Cynthia Persily insists she is protected by the law from giving information that would help prevent such a tragedy. Even the federal government does not interpret the same law in that way. But for Persily and the attorneys advising her department, it is serving the purpose of keeping the public from finding out whether more could have been done -- or if mistakes were made.
Their opacity certainly does nothing to protect children. But they know that.
Samples also alleged DoHS was not providing the information needed by the Foster Care Ombudsman's Office to help receive, investigate, and resolve complaints on the ombudsman's own authority regarding children subject to abuse and neglect and children who have died.
"We thought we had fixed the issue, but then it became apparent in late 2023 ... it may have been early 2024, that this information was still not being provided," Samples testified. "And in those latter conversations (with the Foster Care Ombudsman's Office) specifically, it was mentioned that Ms. (Cammie) Chapman was a barrier to that ... It was relayed that it was the interpretation of the department and Ms. Chapman that the ombudsman would not have access to that information."
While Persily is cabinet secretary for DoHS, Chapman is deputy secretary of children and adult services. Both appear to believe what happens under their direction is no one else's business.
But truly protecting West Virginia's most vulnerable kids is everyone's business.
" ... I believe that the policy fix is really ... around accountability and transparency as opposed to any specific lever that could be pulled that would magically fix the system," Samples testified. "It doesn't matter what policies you try, A, B, or C. If you have transparency and accountability, then you can course correct as appropriate quickly."
It's that simple. Lawmakers and taxpayers have to ask themselves, why on earth don't DoHS officials want that?