I’m Cameron Keyser— Executive Support Specialist at Think Kids and a graduate student about to receive my degree in Health Administration from West Virginia University. Since last fall, I’ve directed a project funded by the Pallottine Foundation of Huntington called Read more…
Experiences like Devry’s are not uncommon for people with disabilities, both in West Virginia and the country at large. On paper, the law says that shouldn’t be the case.
While Clay County is guaranteed to receive some settlement money, women who work with local children and families fear the historical cash infusion will largely bypass their small, rural county.
With fewer providers, many people with disabilities linger on waitlists, travel out of state for care, or leave West Virginia for good.
Nationwide, people with disabilities are more likely to end up in jail and prison, and being incarcerated can worsen their conditions. This is particularly true in West Virginia’s notoriously deadly jails and prisons.
by Amelia Ferrell Knisely –
School-based health clinics, which serve kids impacted by West Virginia’s poverty and drug epidemic, are infusing kids’ mental health services into rural areas.
By Matthew Schaffer West Virginia has fought a long-standing battle against poverty, especially childhood poverty.
Grandparents raising their grandchildren in West Virginia is widespread: in most counties, it’s somewhere between 40 to 50%. In one county, well over half of the grandparents who live there report they’re raising grandkids.
In a deeply unsettling child neglect case that surfaced from Sissonville, West Virginia, the aching echo of Zora Neale Hurston’s words reverberates: “If you are silent about your pain, they’ll kill you and say you enjoyed it.”
With child hunger rates rising nationwide following the end of the Public Health Emergency, rural areas such as Logan County, West Virginia, which were already vulnerable to food insecurity before the pandemic, are feeling the effects of increased demand and limited supply.
by Sarah Davis Where the average meal costs $3.09, Boone County is no stranger to food insecurity.
by Victoria Ware The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated food insecurity and healthcare issues nationwide, impacting people’s lives across demographics and age brackets. Kanawha County is no exception. It has a food insecurity rate of 11% coupled with 67% of the population Read more…
by Brea Smith Hunger is a language everyone on Earth understands, uniting us all. The sense of hunger links every human being, regardless of where we came from or who we are and reminds us of our shared humanity. It’s undeniable that all 8.1 billion people who walk the earth need food, so why isn’t it accessible to all? Why does food insecurity still exist in 2023?
Mingo County is one of the poorest counties in the nation; 85% of the population qualifies for SNAP, which is formerly known as food stamps and has a 200% poverty threshold. Measures to ease food insecurity during the pandemic did nothing to increase this number.
In West Virginia, the state hit hardest by the opioid epidemic, kids haven’t been immune to the problem, and it isn’t easy to get help.
By Erin Beck, Writing for the “When All Are Counted” Project I no longer see COVID testing stations around the state, helping us keep better track of COVID cases. But last week, the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Read more…
While headlines frequently highlight the struggles of white suburban and rural populations, they glaringly overlook the escalating crisis within Black communities. Charleston, WV, is a glaring testament to the racial disparities in opioid-related fatalities and the disproportionate solutions offered.
by Crystal Good, writing for the “When All Are Counted” Project Being a mother is a profound responsibility that comes with a deep, intrinsic desire to shield our children from harm. When my daughter sent me a heart-wrenching message stating Read more…
In West Virginia, there are more than 400 residents with intellectual and developmental disabilities waiting for a year or more for state assistance that would help them with the struggles that come with their challenges. And the number of people who need help is increasing, but state officials haven’t matched that increase with additional funding.
In West Virginia, Black children’s experiences seem to only become visible in the data when they intersect with tragedy.
At Camp Appalachia, a kids’ camp in Putnam County, a twisting dirt road winds by the large swimming pool. On a very hot day in June, dozens of children splash around as camp counselors keep watch.
by Erin Beck, writing for the “When All Are Counted” Project-
It’s expensive to be poor, as the saying goes.
By Erin Beck, Writing for the “When All Are Counted” Project- Where do members of the LGBTQI+ population in West Virginia go if they want substance use disorder treatment…
The majority of the center’s 70 children come from families living in poverty – 85% of the daycare’s payments are from state funds for residents in need. Their families have needs beyond child care.
by Kelli Caseman and Michael Brumage Could a billion dollars be the solution to the drug epidemic? West Virginia is one of 46 in the process of disbursing lawsuit-related opioid settlement funding. Our state has received payments from drug distributors, Read more…
by Crystal Good, writing for the “When All Are Counted” Project When I gave birth to my first child at 20 years old, it was a challenging experience. The episiotomy, epidural, and creepy OBGYN made me feel uncomfortable, and I Read more…
by Amelia Ferrell Knisely This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255). More than 3,000 kids went to West Virginia University Read more…
by Crystal Good, writing for the “When All Are Counted” Project Sometimes, you have to call a thing what it is. As a Black woman in West Virginia’s policy community, I’ve had a front-row seat to progressive, white-led organizations whose Read more…
In physical and mental health care, and in life, nonbinary people experience more challenges, which can make them feel despondent and worthless. But despite backlash from those who want to erase them (or try and fail to, because their identity Read more…
by Amelia Ferrell Knisely Some West Virginia schools are among a growing number of school districts nationwide using telehealth – or virtual therapy – to help students in the midst of a national child mental health emergency. Federal data shows Read more…
Here’s the story: The State of West Virginia paid $10 million of Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding for a Marshall University baseball stadium, despite the cries of 29 social service organizations in West Virginia who sent Read more…
Jimmy is on the autism spectrum, so that’s part of who he is. But he’s also grown into the young man he is because of the circumstances that we, as his community, have decided are acceptable.
West Virginia pediatricians are responding to surges in RSV, Covid-19 and flu cases in children as the state’s pediatric hospital beds have filled up. The doctors are also on the front lines of responding to the state’s youth mental health Read more…
Left to Right: Lauren Gould, Caroline Lego, Lia Schaarschmidt, Bethany Welch My name is Caroline Lego, and my group members— Lauren Gould, Bethany Welch, and Lia Schaarschmidt— and I had the incredible opportunity to work with Think Kids on their Read more…
by Caity Coyne Whether intentional or not, federal policies expanded in 2021 to help families struggling through the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic seem to have provided evidence of a useful strategy for lifting people out of poverty: give Read more…
By Erin Beck, writing for the “When All Are Counted” Project Last week, I was sitting in a meeting of West Virginia lawmakers who were talking about a survey of how prepared schools are for school shooters, and I thought Read more…
by DJ Conley, RN It is no secret that Southern West Virginia has its struggles with health. With rates of obesity, food disparity, and inactivity at an all-time high, it seems that the Sword of Damocles seems to be hanging Read more…
by Erin Beck West Virginia lawmakers, who are seeking records related to the abuse of patients with disabilities in state officials’ care, found it troubling Sunday that those allegations were left out of an evaluation focused on problems at the Read more…
By Crystal Good, writing for the “When All Are Counted” project. I was 20 years old when I gave birth to my first child. I had an episiotomy, an epidural, and a creepy white male OBGYN. I gave birth in Read more…
Adam Culver, a teacher at Cabell County’s alternative learning school, has seen more students filling the seats in his school in the last few years. While the school had typically served kids who were in danger of expulsion and facing Read more…
By Erin Beck, writing for the “When All Are Counted” Project There is power in numbers. But even though there are kids throughout West Virginia who look like JaQue Galloway’s kids and kids who have the same disabilities, her family Read more…
When her 14-year-old daughter needed emergency mental health services last year, Amy Jo Hutchison went to the emergency room in Wheeling. Her daughter was struggling with suicide ideation, an ongoing issue that had become worse during the coronavirus pandemic. Despite Read more…
I spend a lot of time looking for data. Specifically, I look for West Virginia kids’ health and well-being data. I look for who is collecting it, reporting it, and how they’re sharing it. I look at how our state’s systems, Read more…
I was with Caroline the other day when we encountered an unsheltered person. It was upsetting to her and she had a lot of questions that I answered honestly. We had nothing on us that could be of any help, but Caroline noticed that the woman was very sunburned. We were on our way to a friend’s pool and had sunscreen, so we handed that over to her. The woman was delighted.
When I talk to people about food insecurity in their communities, there’s always a need for “more.” More money, more transportation, more volunteers, more fresh food, more organizing, more communication. While hundreds of West Virginians work tirelessly every day to Read more…
The West Virginia Poison Center is reporting an increase in intentional self-poisoning among adolescents, particularly among 15-year-olds— an upward trend that has been largely uninterrupted for over seven years, despite a nearly six percent drop in the population of children 18 years Read more…
Last week, I received a text from a friend asking me to keep an eye out at stores for baby formula. I don’t have children, but their daughter – a 6-month-old whom I adore – is always in the front Read more…
Last week, we announced that Think Kids and the West Virginia Prevention Research Center (WVPRC) were awarded a two-year grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) in support of a research collaboration to assess how West Virginia compiles and reports Read more…
I was a talkative kid growing up. Teachers moved me a lot. They sent notes home in report cards. In middle school, I remember telling a long-winded story at the dinner table, and my dad impatiently gestured to get me Read more…
by Erin Beck As the COVID-19 pandemic persists, West Virginians have reported a drastic increase in cases of child sexual abuse involving the Internet. West Virginians reported about 450 more cases of online child sexual exploitation to the National Center Read more…
Hello, This is Owomide Adeyemi; I am back again my the third and final installment of the TGKVF project. Last year the project I worked on was “Where Do the Kids Go?” which focused on identifying the provider types within Read more…
Hello, My name is Ana Lucia Villabona. I am from Camden, DE. I am a lieutenant for Rehoboth Beach Patrol in Rehoboth Beach, DE. I love the ocean and enjoy reading and working out in my free time. I am Read more…
There’s a fresh energy to new beginnings. We still feel that energy here at Think Kids as we kick off our third year in operation. And while it hasn’t been a smooth ride— launching a nonprofit three months before a Read more…
by Erin Beck, Kids’ Health Coordinator In a series of recent posts on the child mental health crisis in West Virginia, I wrote about how children in West Virginia are ending up in crises in hospital emergency rooms with nowhere Read more…
by Erin Beck, Kids’ Health Correspondent The rate of kids being hospitalized with COVID-19 in West Virginia has nearly tripled in recent weeks. Hospitals are so overwhelmed, care is delayed and some people are being treated in waiting rooms or Read more…
by Erin Beck, Kids’ Health Correspondent Mental health professionals in West Virginia say there aren’t enough of them and they lack enough resources to help all the children newly seeking help in the state. As I outlined in a post Read more…
by Erin Beck, Kids’ Health Correspondent National health groups have declared a mental health crisis among the nation’s children. What does that look like in West Virginia? According to mental health professionals, adults aren’t detecting problems in kids soon enough, Read more…
By Erin Beck, Kids’ Health Correspondent Child therapists in West Virginia tell me that the same social and political problems contributing to anxiety and other mental health problems for adults are also harming children’s moods and mental health. “There’s so Read more…
by Erin Beck, Kids’ Health Correspondent As I interviewed child therapists about the effect of the pandemic on children in West Virginia, it struck me when several spoke of children experiencing feelings of instability and insecurity. That’s because I knew Read more…
In the fight against childhood poverty, focus can easily shift between aspiring for possibility and settling for probability. It is not always that we see solutions that we know our public institutions are capable of delivering, but rather those thought Read more…
Dear West Virginia Legislators, My name is Cassie Bambrick, and I am a senior at West Virginia University studying public health. As this is my last semester of my undergraduate program, I needed to complete what is called a “field Read more…
by Erin Beck, Kids’ Health Correspondent West Virginia officials apparently really don’t want you to know how sick with COVID-19 kids are getting in West Virginia. In September, Think Kids WV Executive Director Kelli Caseman and I noticed the state Read more…
I will be the first to admit: I like to indulge around Thanksgiving time. I want to try all the food and beverages seemingly at my disposal. While I do “give thanks” in some way, I feel like I don’t Read more…
by Erin Beck, Kids’ Health Correspondence It’s too soon to say whether giving a managed care organization oversight of the health of kids in state custody will help those kids, according to a West Virginia Department of Health and Human Read more…
by Erin Beck, Kids’ Health Correspondent The West Virginia Legislature may consider allocating funding toward assistant teachers for first and second-grade classrooms during the upcoming legislative session, should lawmakers follow the recommendations of the West Virginia Department of Education. The Read more…
by Erin Beck, Kids’ Health Correspondent At WVU Medicine, 49 babies, defined as under one year old, have been hospitalized with COVID-19, according to a WVU spokeswoman. And 362 children have been hospitalized with the virus statewide, according to the Read more…
Quick question: How does the health care system connect with the food resource system in West Virginia? Do you know? Is there even a food resource system in West Virginia? These are important questions, and in 2020, we embarked on Read more…
by Erin Beck, Kids’ Health Correspondent Some West Virginia children, unable to get enough oxygen on their own, have required intensive care and ventilators after contracting COVID-19, according to the state COVID czar and pediatricians. The number of children who’ve Read more…
Here is a message I’ve received from my principal, twice, in the last two days: “An individual in your child’s classroom has been identified positive for the COVID virus. Following the latest CDC guidelines, you would have been notified if Read more…
Even though I’m not from West Virginia, I still notice when issues from where I live are the same as ones here. I know there are differences between rural and urban environments, but there are some commonalities. Throughout my college Read more…
Do you remember the nursery rhyme “Ring Around the Rosie?” I do. I sang, spun, and fell down many times with my friends when I was a kid. Years later in college, I read that the song could have originated during the Great Plague Read more…
Charleston, WV — The Girl Scouts of Black Diamond and the Buckskin Council, Boy Scouts of America are offering free scouting for children in foster and kinship care, according to a news release. In statements, Beth Casey, CEO of the Read more…
Superintendent announced new mask requirement as Delta variant continues to spread by Erin Beck Charleston — With more kids in brick-and-mortar schools, and the more contagious Delta variant of COVID-19 rapidly spreading, more Kanawha County kids are contracting the virus, Read more…
As a 17-year-old who grew up in West Virginia, I often think about where I live and what I see around me. On one hand, I’ve seen supportive community and love and growth – but I’ve also seen isolation and Read more…
Kanawha County judge rejects lawsuit filed by unemployed WV workers by Erin Beck Charleston — Kanawha County Circuit Judge Maryclaire Akers ruled against two women who sued Workforce West Virginia after state officials terminated pandemic-related enhanced unemployment benefits. Unemployed workers Read more…
Another chance in unemployment lawsuit scheduled for Monday by Erin Beck A second hearing in a lawsuit against West Virginia officials over the termination of pandemic-related unemployment benefits is scheduled for Monday. Kanawha Circuit Judge Maryclaire Akers denied one procedural Read more…
Kids’ Health Correspondent Erin Beck spoke with Dr. Clay Marsh, West Virginia COVID czar, about young people and the rise of the Delta variant in West Virginia. This conversation took place shortly after news the more easily transmissible Delta variant Read more…
WV education officials: no mask mandate, no map, more local control by Erin Beck, Kids’ Health Correspondent West Virginia’s back-to-school plan leaves most COVID-19-related decisions up to local districts. No statewide mask mandate. No statewide virtual school option for elementary Read more…
Hello, my name is Owomide Adeyemi, I am originally from Brooklyn New York and moved to West Virginia to pursue my bachelor’s degree in Psychology. When the pandemic started, I decided to extend my stay and pursue my Master of Public Health: Epidemiology at West Virginia University. Read more…
I find myself talking a lot about figurative silos. I know I’m not alone in this. Silos are everywhere. We have a silo mentality in West Virginia. By our very nature, in embracing the concept of local control, we build Read more…
Note: I wrote this post weeks ago, but keep procrastinating hitting send, because there is always that stigma to admitting your family has a problem. Why would I share this? Why would I disgrace my mother’s memory? To those, I Read more…
Who narrates the world? I’ve been thinking about this question a lot lately. I was first asked it in a workshop sponsored by The OpEd Project in December. It crept up in my thoughts again a few weeks ago when Read more…
How do we address the inequity in West Virginia’s health care system experienced by kids with developmental disabilities? That’s a really big question. To begin the process of answering it, we first have to ask a series of smaller questions. Read more…
When I was an undergraduate student the words “college food,” such as ramen noodles, microwavable processed meals, and dining halls, were a part of the college experience. Those fond thoughts bring back great memories that evoke a positive feeling of Read more…
The IMPACT WV program is launching a new website designed to provide resources to help educate families and providers on the effects of substance use on the family unit and child development. The website provides a variety of ways that Read more…
Last week, I attended the first series of WV Think Kids’ Health and Hunger Summit Series conferences, and I have to say I’m so thankful that so many are coming together within our state to discuss food insecurities and healthy Read more…
Next week, we’re kicking off the Health and Hunger Summit series. During these months of planning, not being an expert in this field, I’ve made a note of observations and questions that I hope we dig into as the dialogue Read more…
It’s no secret we’re living through challenging times. COVID has removed us from what we know as “normal” life, our nation is grappling with painful questions of racism and equity, it’s a divisive election year, and omnipresent social media gives Read more…
It’s been called all three– the good, the bad, and the ugly. The new “School Alert System,” aka the color-coded COVID-19 map that the West Virginia Department of Education, in conjunction with the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Read more…
Hello, my name is Maddie LaVoie, and I’m beginning an internship with Think Kids this fall. I’d like to tell you a little about me, why I contacted Think Kids about working with them, and what I hope to learn Read more…
Abraham Lincoln once said: “Determine that the thing can and shall be done, and then we shall find the way.” I agree with many child protection professionals– child abuse is increasing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Why? Because most abusers are Read more…
Years ago, I worked as the Director for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Public School Foundation in North Carolina. One day, a man came out of the woods and tried to pull an elementary school girl out of the line of students Read more…
In the midst of a pandemic, after two school years disrupted by labor actions, with hundreds fewer students enrolled than just three years ago, you’d think it would be difficult to expand services and meet the ever growing list of Read more…
Remember that kid in your child’s class who got into serious trouble for something you would never have allowed your child to even think about? Knowing that child’s homelife, you – like a lot of parents – probably thought to Read more…
Reading, writing and arithmetic. These used to be the primary reasons children attended public schools. Over time, public schools have become more than just the academic centers in their communities. Schools no longer provide solely an education these days. They Read more…
For the last several weeks in West Virginia, we’ve seen a slow increase of the number of COVID-19 cases in the 0-19 age group as reported on the WVDHHR’s COVD-19 dashboard. As of 10am this morning, children under 19 account Read more…
Across the country and here at home, communities are planning to open schools for the fall semester. Here’s a pitch to them: bring your local health care providers to the table. Here’s why. There has always been shared space between Read more…
Today, Think Kids joined a number of national and state organizations in support of S. 3293, the Emergency Family Stabilization Act. This bipartisan piece of legislation, introduced by Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), and our own Senator Joe Read more…
Now more than ever, we need data-driven advocacy
None of us have experienced anything like the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s created new challenges for us, as we huddle together in homes for days on end. We’re learning how to parent in a crisis. We wonder what kind of toll Read more…
Depending on what county you live in here in West Virginia, your school year may be quickly coming to a close, and with that comes the question: Who’s going to feed the students?
It’s never too early to explain to children that certain substances are dangerous and not to be touched.
Even with stay at home order, the benefits of vaccinating babies and toddlers through two years of age far outweigh any risks of COVID-19.
Today, Clayton Burch, interim state Superintendent of Schools with the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE), announced that our state public education system has provided over one million meals to students since our state school system was shut down on Read more…
I watched a webcast during lunch today—Johns Hopkins University & Medicine’s COVID-19 and the Politics of Information. At one point, a panelist said, “There’s no Walter Cronkite anymore.” You may be too young to remember Walter Cronkite. He was the Read more…
Things are quickly changing, even over the span of just a week. The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic and President Trump declared a national emergency because of the pandemic. While we don’t have any known cases in West Read more…
Getting to know more about West Virginia’s food pantries is harder than you think, but worth the effort.
Where are we going and how did we get here? Over the last 10 years, as someone working in the trenches as a physical therapist here in West Virginia, I have seen the number of children born substance-exposed increase, struggles Read more…
I was sitting in a committee meeting at the legislature last week when a colleague named Joe—a social worker at a local community health center—asked me if I knew whether the number of children removed from the home by the Read more…
“Are you hungry?” In 2015, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended, for the first time, that pediatricians should screen all children for food insecurity. Back then, an estimated 7.9 million kids in our country lived in “food insecure” households. Unfortunately, we Read more…
Our new business cards have been printed. They’re heavy, and a little shiny. Maybe it’s a little premature to have them printed 4/5 months before we intend to launch, but holding them in my hands makes me feel like we’re Read more…
I moved to Charleston, WV in 2004 to work as the Program Manager of the West Virginia Asthma Coalition. One of our first projects was to advocate for the right of public school students to carry their albuterol inhalers in Read more…