West Virginia Children’s Home to close, hundreds of foster kids living in group homes

West Virginia Children's Home, a residential facility in Elkins, W.Va., for foster children, will be closed by the state by the end of the year. The home serves youth ages 12 to 18 who can't be in traditional foster homes due to behavior issues. (Courtesy photo)

The state will close the West Virginia Children's 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 is reliant on group homes to house foster kids and doesn't have enough available beds.

The 25-bed residential facility , which serves youth ages 12 to 18 years old from any county, is operated by the Department of Human Services. The youth aren't 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.

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

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 told lawmakers last year that the West Virginia Children's Home, built in 1909, had numerous safety concerns involving windows and doors that needed to be addressed.

Hundreds of West Virginia's 6,135 foster kids are in group homes, according to state data . There is a shortage of foster homes , 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.

"Too many children who come into foster care in West Virginia are currently residing in residential facilities, away from family connections," she said. "It 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."

When lawmakers last year discussed possibly closing the facility, Persily cited a state code that requires West Virginia to operate an "orphanage."

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

ongoing class-action lawsuit , filed in 2019, alleged the mistreatment of thousands of foster children in DoHS care; the suit said that a disproportionate number of children were sent to institutions. DoHS requested a summary judgment in the suit in July, vowing they'd 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's foster children live in group homes.