​

• 12/22/23 - West Virginia Watch
  WVU paid more than $230K for Coben to fly on private jet to Charleston for governor-appointed job.
  https://westvirginiawatch.com/2023/12/22/wvu-paid-more-than-255k-for-coben-to-fly-on-private-jet-to-charleston-for-governor-appointed-job/
   

• 12/19/23 - The Parkersburg New and Sentinel
  Hearing set for sanctions motion in West Virginia foster care lawsuit.
  https://www.newsandsentinel.com/news/local-news/2023/12/hearing-set-for-sanctions-motion-in-west-virginia-foster-care-lawsuit/
   

• 12/18/23 - WV Metro News
  Magistrate judge orders a hearing over purged emails in foster care lawsuit.  The federal magistrate judge plans to hear more about a request for sanctions over conditions in the foster care system.
  https://wvmetronews.com/2023/12/18/magistrate-judge-orders-a-hearing-over-purged-emails-in-foster-care-lawsuit/
   

• 12/14/23 - West Virginia Watch
  Former DHHR attorney backs up claim department ‘intentionally’ deleted emails in foster care suit.
  Attorneys who brought the lawsuit on behalf of foster children say the deletion of evidence ‘was not merely reckless but was intentional.’
  https://westvirginiawatch.com/2023/12/14/former-dhhr-attorney-backs-up-claim-department-intentionally-deleted-emails-in-foster-care-suit/
   

• 12/14/23 - Mountain State Spotlight
  Officials say sweeping changes are needed to prevent institutionalization of West Virginians with disabilities. Lawmakers will strongly consider increasing pay for workers who help West Virginians with intellectual disabilities live more independently, but a legislative study recommends a broader range of reforms also be implemented.
  https://mountainstatespotlight.org/2023/12/14/disability-care-worker-pay-raises/
   

• 12/12/23 - West Virginia Watch
  Weeks away from DHHR split deadline, lawmakers worry not enough is changing.  State lawmakers pushed to split the behemoth DHHR, but the implementation appears to some as more ‘bloated bureaucracy’
  https://westvirginiawatch.com/2023/12/12/weeks-away-from-dhhr-split-deadline-lawmakers-worry-not-enough-is-changing/
   

• 12/10/23 - Mountain State Spotlight
  As officials delay, more West Virginians with disabilities are being confined to mental hospitals. For at least two years, disability rights advocates have warned that the state was indefinitely institutionalizing people in state-owned psychiatric hospitals. Despite outcry, lawmakers have been slow to act.
  https://mountainstatespotlight.org/2023/12/10/wv-disabilities-mental-hospital/?utm_source=Mountain+State+Spotlight&utm_campaign=ba23d2ee17-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_12_11&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_91c55fb9d7-ba23d2ee17-482962127
   

• 11/17/23 - West Virginia Watch
  DHHR leaders say they’ll change staff vetting after multiple contract employees arrested.  Multiple employees at a state-run psychiatric hospital have been recently arrested for crimes, including murders that occurred off-site.
  https://westvirginiawatch.com/2023/11/17/dhhr-leaders-say-theyll-change-staff-vetting-after-multiple-contract-employees-arrested/?emci=221f5472-a784-ee11-8925-00224832e811&emdi=f659b2d5-4085-ee11-8925-00224832e811&ceid=113465
   

• 11/15/23 - West Virginia Watch
  Multiple employees at a state-run hospital have been charged with crimes this year. The charges, which include murders, have raised concerns about the employee screening process at Sharpe Hospital in Weston.
  https://westvirginiawatch.com/2023/11/15/multiple-employees-at-a-state-run-hospital-have-been-charged-with-crimes-this-year/
   

• 11/1/23 - West Virginia Watch
  Mother seeks answers as son with autism trapped and injured in troubled state psychiatric hospital.  Sharpe hospital was never meant to house patients long term. JP, a 33-year-old mostly nonverbal man, has been there for more than a year as the state doesn’t have enough community placement.
  https://westvirginiawatch.com/2023/11/01/mother-seeks-answers-as-son-with-autism-trapped-and-injured-in-troubled-state-psychiatric-hospital/
   

• 10/10/23 - West Virginia Watch
  Women at Sharpe complained about employee before he was charged with patient sex crimes.  It’s the latest problem to surface at the troubled state-run psychiatric facility, which for years has faced scrutiny for its patient treatment and staffing issues.
  https://westvirginiawatch.com/2023/10/10/women-at-sharpe-complained-about-employee-before-he-was-charged-with-patient-sex-crimes/
   

• 9/11/23 - West Virginia Watch
  Patients continue to linger in state psychiatric hospital without treatment plans, inspection shows. Lawmakers have heard for years about problems at William R. Sharpe, Jr. Hospital, a psychiatric facility under state operation. They recently toured the hospital, but Disability Rights West Virginia said it’s hardly a response to the crisis.
  https://westvirginiawatch.com/2023/09/11/patients-continue-to-linger-in-state-psychiatric-hospital-without-treatment-plans-inspection-shows/
   

• 5/7/23 - WV News
  West Virginia DHHR working on plans to keep disabled out of state hospitals
  https://www.wvnews.com/news/wvnews/west-virginia-dhhr-working-on-plans-to-keep-disabled-out-of-state-hospitals/article_73e95f8a-ed27-11ed-95bc-b3f52380e2a6.html 
   

• 3/8/23 - The Parkersburg New and Sentinel
  Bill to study IDD in criminal justice system passes West Virginia Senate
  https://www.newsandsentinel.com/news/local-news/2023/02/bill-to-study-idd-in-criminal-justice-system-passes-west-virginia-senate/
   

• 3/6/23 - The Register Herald
  People with disabilities in Beckley forced to use the bathroom in buckets and outside, inspections show
  https://www.register-herald.com/news/state_region/people-with-disabilities-in-beckley-forced-to-use-the-bathroom-in-buckets-and-outside-inspections/article_18790d7a-b9f7-11ed-8dec-63c4337ace4f.html​ 
   

• 2/13/23 - The State Journal
  Advocates: Home care service shortages and issues place West Virginians at risk
  https://www.wvnews.com/statejournal/news/advocates-home-care-service-shortages-and-issues-place-west-virginians-at-risk/article_613b3f82-a891-11ed-a400-3bc087a218c6.html
   

• 2/13/23 - 100 Days in Appalachia (Erin Beck)
  For This W.Va. family, legislative attention on ‘warehousing’ people with intellectual disabilities at state hospitals is too late
  https://www.100daysinappalachia.com/2023/02/for-this-w-va-family-legislative-attention-on-warehousing-people-with-intellectual-disabilities-at-hospitals-is-too-late/
   

• 2/7/23 - The Parkersburg News and Sentinel
  Bill to study IDD in criminal justice system passed West Virginia Senate
  https://www.newsandsentinel.com/news/local-news/2023/02/bill-to-study-idd-in-criminal-justice-system-passes-west-virginia-senate/
   

• 1/20/23 - The Register Herald
  Whistleblowers protection bill follows alleged mistreatment of disabled people in state care
  https://www.register-herald.com/news/state_region/whistleblowers-protection-bill-follows-alleged-mistreatment-of-disabled-people-in-state-care/article_751d8090-986b-11ed-b81b-63e30846f0aa.html