CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WVDN) – Governor Patrick Morrisey joined Assistant Secretary Alex Adams of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families (ACF) to announce West Virginia’s participation in the national “A Home for Every Child” initiative, a collaborative effort aimed at improving outcomes for children and strengthening the foster care system.
“Every child deserves the opportunity to grow up in a safe, stable, and loving home,” said Governor Morrisey. “West Virginia is committed to strengthening families, supporting foster parents, improving permanency outcomes, and ensuring our child welfare system is focused on what matters most – protecting children and helping them thrive. This partnership allows us to continue modernizing our system while empowering frontline workers and community partners to better serve children and families across our state.”
The initiative seeks to increase the ratio of foster homes to children in foster care while giving states greater flexibility to modernize child welfare systems, reduce unnecessary bureaucracy, and focus on measurable outcomes for children and families.
Governor Morrisey and Assistant Secretary Adams made the announcement during an event highlighting West Virginia’s ongoing child welfare reforms, including expanded prevention efforts, stronger coordination with providers and faith-based organizations, implementation of the SAFE (Safety Assessment and Family Evaluation) Model, improvements to foster parent recruitment and retention efforts, and enhanced accountability measures throughout the system.
“Momentum continues to build behind A Home for Every Child. The Trump administration is thrilled to welcome West Virginia as the 19th state to join our national initiative aimed at increasing the ratio of foster homes to children in foster care,” said Assistant Secretary Alex J. Adams. “Under Governor Morrisey’s leadership, the state will be able to strengthen efforts that keep families safely together and support foster family recruitment and retention to ensure no child has to wait on a safe, loving, stable home.”
The “A Home for Every Child” initiative is part of President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump’s broader effort to improve outcomes for children and families through prevention-focused reforms, stronger permanency efforts, and increased state flexibility within the child welfare system.
As part of the initiative, participating states work collaboratively with ACF to improve foster home availability, strengthen kinship care, reduce unnecessary administrative burdens, and modernize child welfare accountability systems.
