A commission created to oversee juvenile justice issues in West Virginia harshly criticized the state Department of Health and Human Resources in a report issued Monday and called on the agency to immediately withdraw plans to change how it pays to place juveniles in residential treatment facilities.
"This significant change could cause the closure of certain facilities and the elimination of other needed services and cause further constraint and limitations on treatment options available to the court system, thereby placing children at risk," the Juvenile Justice Commission wrote in its report.
The commission, which was created by the West Virginia Supreme Court, released findings of fact and conclusions of law Monday about the pending reimbursement changes, including a 180-day limit on juveniles' stays at the facilities.
The commission held a hearing on the proposed changes last month. No one from the DHHR attended the hearing and no one from the agency ever consulted with court officials about the plan, the commission pointed out.
In addition to suspending implementation of the proposed plan, the commission recommends that any future changes to the process used to place at-risk children be transparent and include input from the judiciary and other officials.
"The Commission is deeply troubled with the testimony provided at the public forum. Furthermore, the Commission has taken note that the Department of Health and Human Resources has been provided many opportunities and invitations to explain the aforementioned changes and has refused to do so, seemingly taken the position that no explanation is warranted to the judiciary, providers, educators, and families among others," the report states. "The Commission finds this position to be presumptuous and shortsighted, especially considering that judges, court officers, treatment providers, teachers, and families are a critical and necessary part of determining the best treatment options for the individual child."
Last month, Kanawha County Circuit Judge Tod Kaufman denied a request that would have halted changes to the reimbursement model. Seven youth-services agencies in the state had filed for injunctive relief, but Kaufman said the request didn't classify an emergency.
The pending DHHR contract would replace bundled rates of $250 a day for residential placements to a standard rate of $178 a day for room, board and supervision, while requiring residential care facilities to bill separately for other services provided to each child on a fee-for-service basis.
That change, along with the elimination of three levels of classification of children based on treatment needs, could cause severe financial issues for residential centers that provide more intensive treatment options, according to the commission.
The commission called for the immediate suspension of implementation of the new contracts.
Putnam Circuit Judge Phillip Stowers, who is chairman of the commission, said last month that commissioners called the hearing because they've had difficulty getting answers about what sort of services will be available for judges placing juveniles in residential centers.
Monday's findings also recommend that the DHHR disclose the "computer matrix process" that possibly eliminates judicial discretion when a child is placed in a facility.
The new residential provider agreements force a provider to accept a child at a facility that has a vacancy, even though that facility might not have the appropriate treatment services for that child, the commission's report states.
In a statement issued last month, DHHR Secretary Karen Bowling said the changes were intended to promote community-based services and enhance the services that residential facilities provide.
"The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources respects the role of the judiciary system in the care of all children placed in our custody," she said. "The changes in contracts with providers have been an effort to continue to promote community-based services, while enhancing the individualized behavioral health services offered in shelters and residential facilities."
Reach Kate White at kate.white@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1723, or follow @KateLWhite on Twitter.