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OPINIONS
Editorial: State can't ignore questions about DHHR's effectiveness any longer
The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources has received considerable attention this year, and the bulk of it has not been complimentary, to say the least.
Concerns about the agency's capacity to conduct its various missions capably have some officials wondering what must be done to improve DHHR's performance, which now has been harshly criticized by two state Supreme Court justices. One possible answer that's been floated is to split up the agency so various departments can get a better handle on more effectively carrying out their respective purposes -- a step that may be warranted.
The latest broadside at DHHR came from Supreme Court Justice Margaret Workman. In a concurring opinion released last week, Workman said the DHHR fell short in protecting children who were in an abusive home for six years before a judge ordered them removed.
In her opinion, Workman wrote: "The intent is to issue a clarion call to the DHHR to provide child protective services with more resources and more direction in protecting children."
She further wrote that the incident raises concern that it's only "the tip of the iceberg." It also raises the question "whether we must begin to re-examine child protective services in a more systemic manner."
"Systemic" was a word that Supreme Court Chief Justice Brent Benjamin used in an opinion he released in August. He contended that DHHR all too often fails to meet its obligations for "lack of resources" and said the resource issue appears to be "systemic." His opinion stemmed from a parental-rights case in which DHHR repeatedly failed to meet court-ordered deadlines in Cabell County Circuit Court.
DHHR also has come under fire for overcrowding and staff shortages at the state's two mental health hospitals, including Mildred Mitchell-Bateman Hospital in Huntington.
Among those taking note of DHHR's problems has been Delegate Don Perdue, a Wayne Democrat who is chairman of the House Health and Human Resources Committee. He is calling for legislation to address what he describes as depleted resources at the agency, starting with hiring more people.
He and some other lawmakers also have discussed splitting up DHHR, which he said might make it easier to focus on the many tasks it currently has. Before Gov. Gaston Caperton's administration in the 1990s, many of the functions now handled by DHHR were in separate parts of state government. Caperton sought the merger of those agencies to make them more streamlined and efficient.
Perhaps the agency is more streamlined and efficient, if saving money is the definition used. But its effectiveness has been called into question repeatedly over the last 18 months.
Gov. Joe Manchin and lawmakers should perform a thorough review of DHHR's shortcomings, including staffing and otherwise. The agency is supposed to look out for some of the most vulnerable among us, including children and the mentally ill. But its recent record shows too many lapses. A thorough assessment of what it should be doing and what is required for it to carry out its missions is sorely needed. After that, the governor and lawmakers should take aggressive steps to ensure the agency -- or agencies, if it's split up -- is doing its job effectively.
