A campus that cared for West Virginia children for close to four decades is getting ready to do it again.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced Thursday that the former Barboursville School in Cabell County will reopen as a residential treatment facility for children in foster care. The state has signed a five-year lease with Youth Health Associates to run the facility.
What's Coming to Barboursville
According to the governor, the campus will be able to serve up to 36 children and is expected to create about 50 to 60 jobs once it is fully up and running. The facility is set to begin admitting children in early 2027, and the governor said he expects many of its beds to be filled by the end of March.
"Bringing our children home has been one of my highest priorities since taking office," Morrisey said. "For too long, our kids were sent hundreds or even thousands of miles away to receive the care they need. Reopening Barboursville is an important step toward changing that, and our goal is to replicate this approach across West Virginia so we can bring all our children home."
The reopening is part of the governor's "A Home for Every Child" initiative, and he said the plan is to use Barboursville as a model for expanding in-state treatment options in other parts of the state.
Not a Detention Center
The state-owned property sits inside Barboursville Park, one of the village's busiest public spaces, and the plans drew questions from neighbors earlier this week. The West Virginia Department of Human Services has said the campus will be a residential treatment facility for foster children, not a juvenile detention center. The department noted that the children it serves have often been removed from unsafe homes because of abuse, neglect, addiction, abandonment, or other circumstances beyond their control. "They are not criminals," the agency said.
State data released earlier this year showed nearly 400 West Virginia foster children living in out-of-state group homes and psychiatric facilities, at a cost of more than $62 million.
A Change for Foster Kids' Benefits, Too
Morrisey also announced a second change aimed at kids in care. Starting January 1, 2027, West Virginia will stop applying Social Security survivor benefits that belong to children in foster care toward the state's foster care costs. Instead, the governor said, that money will be saved for the children themselves, giving them a financial foundation as they head into adulthood.
Here in West Virginia, we take care of our own. For a lot of these kids, being able to get help close to home, near the hills and the people they know, could make all the difference. We'll keep you posted as the Barboursville campus gets ready to open its doors again.