Bill > HB5636

This bill aims to fix significant problems with how the Department of Human Services pays providers who offer essential services to children, ensuring they get paid promptly through the Child Welfare Payment System. The Legislature has found that current payment failures are causing providers to incur interest costs on lines of credit, face reduced credit limits, and are unable to expand services or even maintain current capacity due to cash flow issues, leading to some providers closing programs and children being placed in less suitable accommodations. To address this, the bill mandates that by July 1, 2027, the Department must decouple payments from individual worker actions, implement a standardized invoice-based payment system, establish a formal annual reconciliation process within six months of the fiscal year's end, create a dedicated payment resolution process with a high-level contact and clear escalation procedures, and hold regular monthly meetings between providers and the department's finance unit. Additionally, the bill allows child placement agencies secure, limited access to the State PATH system (a state system for managing child welfare services) to update foster family status for better payment accuracy and mandates corrections to coding errors within the PATH system that affect payments for residential transitional living services.

Budget and Finance

http://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/Bills_history.cfm?input=5636&year=2026&sessiontype=RS&btype=bill