From the archive: This story covers events from June 2026. FAN is adding past cases to its public record; the latest available update is under “Where it stands now.”
Charleston, West Virginia — A federal appeals court on June 4, 2026, revived a class action brought on behalf of thousands of West Virginia foster children, ruling that federal courts have the power and the duty to fix systemic constitutional violations in a state’s child welfare system. West Virginia has since asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take the case.
What the court decided
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reversed U.S. District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin of the Southern District of West Virginia, who dismissed the 2019 lawsuit on Feb. 28, 2025, after concluding federal courts lacked the power to grant the relief the children sought.
federal courts not only have the authority, but also a duty, to remedy systemic constitutional rights violations
Senior Judge Henry F. Floyd, writing for the Fourth Circuit majority
Judge Pamela A. Harris joined Floyd’s opinion. Judge Allison Jones Rushing concurred in part and dissented in part; she would have considered the state’s conditional cross-appeal seeking to decertify the plaintiff classes, which the majority found was filed too late. The panel also denied the children’s request to send the case to a different district judge, finding no evidence of bias.
When he dismissed the case, Goodwin had written that the dismissal was not an approval of the system.
This compelled dismissal is in no way an endorsement of the system as it remains.
U.S. District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin, as quoted by WV MetroNews
What the children allege
The suit was filed in 2019 by A Better Childhood, Disability Rights West Virginia and the law firm Shaffer and Shaffer. It alleges that children in state custody are institutionalized or sent out of state, housed in hotels, shelters and institutions, denied community-based mental health services and subjected to abuse and neglect, according to WV MetroNews and the News and Sentinel. The defendants are the governor and the state’s human services agency, formerly the Department of Health and Human Resources and now the Department of Human Services.
The cases they buried, read out loud.
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State lawyers have argued that West Virginia has steadily improved its child welfare system since 2019, which they say undercuts the claims. The state’s Child Welfare Dashboard showed 5,912 children in state custody at the end of April 2026, the News and Sentinel reported.
Where the system failed
The appeals ruling did not decide whether West Virginia violated the children’s rights. It decided that a federal court can hear the claims and order a remedy if they are proven. For seven years, the case has turned on whether the state can be made to answer for the conditions children live in once it takes custody of them.
Where it stands now
Gov. Patrick Morrisey and other state officials filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court on Sept. 2, 2026, docketed as No. 26-297. Amicus briefs supporting review were filed on Oct. 8 by West Virginia House of Delegates Speaker Roger Hanshaw and others and by South Carolina and other states, and the American Center for Law and Justice moved to file one.
The children’s lawyers initially waived a response. On Oct. 19, 2026, the Court requested one. On Oct. 29, it extended the deadline to Dec. 8, 2026, according to the docket. The Fourth Circuit’s ruling returned the case to the district court for further proceedings.
Families whose children enter state custody are told the state will keep them safe. This case asks whether a court can hold the state to that promise when the record shows otherwise. FAN documents the conditions children face in state care in its overview of foster care system problems.
Key facts
- Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, No. 25-1232, decided June 4, 2026
- Ruling: reversed the Feb. 28, 2025, dismissal of a 2019 foster care class action; Rushing concurred in part and dissented in part
- Plaintiffs’ counsel: A Better Childhood, Disability Rights West Virginia, Shaffer and Shaffer
- 5,912 children were in West Virginia state custody at the end of April 2026, per the state dashboard
- West Virginia petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court on Sept. 2, 2026 (No. 26-297)
- The children’s response to the petition is due Dec. 8, 2026
Sources
- WV MetroNews — Appeals judges say courts can address conditions in West Virginia’s child welfare system (2026-06-04)
- News and Sentinel — W.Va. foster care lawsuit still alive after federal appeals court decision (2026-06-06)
- Supreme Court of the United States — Docket No. 26-297 (2026-10-29)
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