From the archive: This story covers events from November 2025. FAN is adding past cases to its public record; the latest available update is under “Where it stands now.”
Charleston, West Virginia — West Virginia’s child protective services failed to follow one or more federal requirements in an estimated 91% of the abuse and neglect reports it accepted for assessment over a year, a federal inspector general audit found. Applied statewide, that is about 21,621 of 23,759 reports.
The audit by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, report OAS-25-01-011, covered Oct. 1, 2023, through Sept. 30, 2024. It was made public in November 2025.
What the auditors found
Auditors examined a sample of 100 screened-in family reports handled by the West Virginia Department of Human Services’ Bureau for Social Services, checking them against requirements tied to the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act. In the sample:
- 74 reports lacked a required notification letter to parents or caregivers.
- 61 initial assessments were not finished within the required 30 days.
- 41 reports lacked required interviews with children or adults.
- 41 left the mandated reporter without word on whether the referral was accepted or screened out.
- 9 lacked a required safety plan, and 8 lacked a required assessment of impending safety threats.
Failure to comply with requirements places the children’s health and safety at risk.
HHS Office of Inspector General, report OAS-25-01-011
Why the state was audited
The inspector general said it chose West Virginia based on its own risk assessment and on news reports of a high-profile teenager’s death related to child neglect. West Virginia Public Broadcasting and West Virginia Watch reported that the audit followed the 2024 death of a 14-year-old Boone County girl who was found starved in her home. West Virginia Watch reported that reporters found CPS and the State Police had been aware of the girl before her death, while state officials said they had no record of a referral that could have prompted an investigation.
Where the system failed
The missing steps were basic ones: telling families what they were accused of, interviewing the people involved, closing assessments on time and telling the teachers, doctors and others who made reports what happened next. According to the audit, the bureau said caseworkers with heavy caseloads prioritized child interviews over administrative tasks such as notification letters. Yet interviews were also missing in 41 of the 100 sampled reports.
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The inspector general made four recommendations: make sure workers complete all required intake and assessment steps, train supervisors to notify mandated reporters of referral decisions, add a system check to stop incorrect safety decisions, and require supervisors to track interviews and review overdue cases weekly. The bureau concurred with all four.
Where it stands now
Human Services Secretary Alex Mayer told a legislative oversight commission on Dec. 9, 2025, that the report confirmed problems the department was already addressing, and he described the state’s system as one in transition. “We take the OIG’s findings seriously,” Mayer said, according to The Intermountain. West Virginia Watch reported that the bureau revised its CPS policy to add supervisor steps on timely interviews and assessments, and that the Legislature created a critical incident review team for deaths and near-deaths of foster children caused by abuse or neglect.
As of Nov. 8, 2026, the inspector general’s recommendation tracker still listed all four recommendations as open and unimplemented. FAN found no public report from the state documenting that they had been completed.
An audit that finds families were not told of allegations against them, and that reporters were left in the dark, describes an agency operating without the basic checks that protect both children and parents. Missed notices and unfinished assessments are failures of supervision and accountability, and they leave families with no record to answer. Parents facing an investigation can read FAN’s guide to how CPS investigations work.
Key facts
- Agency: West Virginia Department of Human Services, Bureau for Social Services
- Audit: HHS Office of Inspector General report OAS-25-01-011, covering Oct. 1, 2023, to Sept. 30, 2024
- Estimated 91% of screened-in reports, about 21,621 of 23,759, broke one or more requirements
- 74 of 100 sampled reports lacked a notification letter to parents or caregivers
- 61 of 100 initial assessments ran past the 30-day deadline
- The state concurred with all four recommendations; as of Nov. 8, 2026, the tracker listed them as open
Sources
- HHS Office of Inspector General — West Virginia Did Not Comply With Intake, Screening, Assessment, and Investigation Requirements for Responding to Reports of Child Abuse and Neglect (2025-09-26)
- West Virginia Watch — Federal audit says WV failed to properly investigate bulk of child abuse and neglect referrals (2025-11-17)
- West Virginia Public Broadcasting — Inspector General: 91% of W.Va. child abuse cases out of compliance (2025-11-14)
- The Intermountain — Mayer taking federal child welfare audit seriously (2025-12-11)
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