Time for another update on a previously reported location: West Virginia. We’re Robert and Kathey Raskin, and we don’t feel that outsourcing the current system is the right way to go. You can claim to have oversight when you outsource something. But the fact is, you’re not. Not only that you’re taking away jobs from hard-working Americans. It’s because you don’t have the foresight to take a proactive stance, drain the swamp, and protect Americans from 8 weeks to 80 years.
Who Are We Helping Here?
The state Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) recently reported that they’re putting up for bid a three-and-a-half-year contract, beginning January 1, 2020. The estimated value will be nearly $200 million per year. Of course, as with most things, it’s subject to change if additional services need to be integrated into the program. Services provided by NECCO are independent of this contract. DHHR would continue to provide services to the Bureau for Children and Families.
Making Good on Threats
According to the Associated Press, the move is billed to help streamline care for children in state custody and adoptive families. The reason why it’s moving over to a managed care organization is because local lawmakers passed a bill requiring DHHR to transfer children in foster care to an MCO by January 2020. But they only moved forward with this because the Department of Justice threatened to sue the state over possible violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act within its foster system.
You’re reading this right. They only decided to pursue an MCO because they were being threatened with a lawsuit. Not once did it occur to them to take control and do something about it before it even got to that point. This lethargic approach is why we’re adamant that the problem is within the department, and the department should handle it. Bringing an outside source in is only a Band-Aid. Unless we work to clear out the disease, it’ll come back time and again.
Hear more about the West Virginia Senate Select Committee on Children and Poverty from Executive Director of the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy Ted Boettner: