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Education is at a Crossroads: Help Us Illuminate the Path Forward.听

The state will close the West Virginia Children鈥檚 Home, a residential facility in Elkins for foster children, by the end of the year. The decision to close the 25-bed facility comes as the state on group homes to house foster kids and doesn鈥檛 have enough available beds.

The 25-bed , which serves youth ages 12 to 18 years old from any county, is operated by the Department of Human Services. The youth aren鈥檛 able to be served in a traditional foster home due to behavioral issues.

The West Virginia Department of Education operates a school on its premises.

鈥淭here have been six to 10 students there for the last 12 to 18 months,鈥� said Jacob Green, superintendent of听 West Virginia Schools of Diversion and Transition, adding that three children currently reside at the facility. 鈥淭here is a new program in Parsons run by Genesis [Foster Care and Adoption Services], and we will be moving resources there.鈥�

Green added that the decision was made after talk of closing the facility for more than two years.

DoHS did not respond to questions for this story about why they will close the facility. Department Secretary Cynthia Persily last year that the West Virginia Children鈥檚 Home, built in 1909, had numerous safety concerns involving windows and doors that needed to be addressed.

Hundreds of West Virginia鈥檚 6,135 foster kids are in group homes, according to . There is a , particularly for older children.

Lawmakers and advocates have said kids are continuing to be housed in hotels due to a lack of foster families and available beds in group homes.

Shanna Gray, is the executive director for West Virginia Court Appointed Special Advocates, or CASA.

鈥淭oo many children who come into foster care in West Virginia are currently residing in residential facilities, away from family connections,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t is our hope that the closing of this and other already identified unsafe environments for West Virginia children will force our systems to acknowledge other ways in addressing and curbing the unprecedented influx of children entering [the] foster care system, including building capacity of community support.鈥�

When lawmakers last year discussed possibly closing the facility, Persily cited a that requires West Virginia to operate an 鈥渙rphanage.鈥�

DoHS did not answer a question about if a different facility would not meet the code鈥檚 requirement to house foster children.

An , filed in 2019, alleged the mistreatment of thousands of听 foster children in DoHS care; the suit said that a disproportionate number of children were sent to institutions. DoHS in the suit in July, vowing they鈥檇 made improvements to the system that included recruiting more foster families. Attorneys suing the state said the problems persist and are planning for a trial in March 2025.

Correction: This story was updated to say that hundreds of West Virginia鈥檚 foster children live in group homes.听

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. West Virginia Watch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Leann Ray for questions: info@westvirginiawatch.com. Follow West Virginia Watch on and .

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