West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy

06/16/2026

Medicaid and SNAP are critical in every Mountain State community. Beginning today and continuing over the next several weeks, we’ll show what Medicaid and SNAP mean county-by-county across West Virginia.

To start us off, we're sharing the data for McDowell, Mercer, Wyoming, Summers, and Raleigh counties.

Medicaid helps 8,005 McDowell residents, 20,503 Mercer residents, 6,595 Wyoming residents, 3,912 Summers residents, and 22,076 Raleigh residents access health care.

SNAP helps 1,919 McDowell residents, 5,539 Mercer residents, 3,763 Wyoming residents, 2,487 Summers residents, and 13,138 Raleigh residents put food on the table.

Medicaid and SNAP support local health care providers, grocers, and jobs and help generate economic activity for businesses and retailers.

Cuts to these programs would affect all of us, not just those directly enrolled.

06/16/2026

For too long, West Virginia’s wealth and resources have been extracted to benefit those outside of the state while families here struggle to afford the basics. In particular, the rural communities that West Virginia families have lived in for generations are increasingly ignored—facing loss of industry and good-paying jobs, the closure of their neighborhood schools and hospitals, brown tap water, and failing infrastructure.

Tax cuts that overwhelmingly benefit West Virginia’s wealthiest households and corporations have eroded the budget, gutting our ability to invest in the programs and services that make life more affordable for everyday people.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. An honest day’s work could provide the pay and benefits that allow people to meet all their basic needs without having to scrape by. Every community—even the most rural ones—could have a well-resourced public school, clean drinking water, resilient infrastructure, and job training and work opportunities nearby for the people who have built their lives there. And all could be paid for by fixing our state’s upside-down tax system and ensuring those benefiting from our resources pay their fair share.

Our new report offers a bold but actionable blueprint to harness West Virginia’s wealth to benefit our own workers and families. Access it here: https://wvpolicy.org/putting-people-first-policies-to-strengthen-every-west-virginia-community/

06/16/2026

Federal funding for West Virginia’s Family Support Centers will be available next month to keep the centers open this summer.

06/15/2026

"West Virginia has one of the nation’s highest child hunger rates, and one in five children face not having enough to eat. Most counties offer free breakfast and lunch to all students during the school year.

"This summer, there are added strains on families trying to keep food on the table without the help of school year meal programs. Grocery prices rose 2.9% in April compared to the same month last year, according to government figures released in May. Fruits and vegetables have seen some of the biggest price hikes.

"President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act is also likely to impact child hunger in West Virginia after it included changes to food assistance for 36,000 low-income West Virginia residents. The state’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program enrollment declined by 5.7% between enactment and February 2026 since the megabill was implemented.

"During the COVID-19 pandemic, West Virginia children were automatically enrolled in a Summer EBT program that provides money for groceries. Now, automatic eligibility is tied to enrollment in federal anti-poverty programs or Medicaid. Everyone else must submit an application.

“'Summer EBT has been a critical tool for helping put food on families’ tables during the summer when school meals are not available. The cuts Congress made to SNAP last summer via the One Big Beautiful Bill mean that the Summer EBT program will reach fewer children in West Virginia this year,' said Kelly Allen, executive director at the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy."

The Dept. of Ed is working to provide statewide feeding sites to put together nutritious meals while navigating surging food costs.

06/15/2026

Where a child lives can shape their access to economic opportunity and long-term well-being. The Annie E. Casey Foundation 2026 KIDS COUNT® Data Book highlights how economic well-being for children and families varies across the country, including differences in family poverty, housing cost burden, parental employment, and access to financial stability.

When families can afford stable housing, nutritious food, health care, and other essentials, children are more likely to thrive. But economic hardship can create lasting challenges for kids’ physical, mental, and cognitive health.

Explore the latest data and see how West Virginia compares in supporting family economic well-being: https://bit.ly/26DataBook-FB

Check out our recent op-ed on how recent policy and budget decisions made at both the state and federal levels are harming our children: https://tinyurl.com/3u3jcszu

06/12/2026

Kids Count Data from Annie E. Casey Foundation reports WV Teen Birth Rates Have Again This Year.

The Teen Birth Rate in WV has dropped 58% Since 2007!
That's a milestone worth celebrating as the numbers continue to move in the right direction, with a 3.8% decrease in the past year alone.

While we're encouraged of how far our youth has come, we know there is still work to do. Today's youth face new challenges, from unhealthy relationships and mental health concerns to online risks and misinformation. That's why Mission WV remains committed to providing education, resources, and support that help young people thrive.

Thank you to the funders, researchers, schools, families, and community partners for helping make a difference for West Virginia's youth.

06/12/2026

This week in Budget Beat:
- West Virginia Ranks 41st in Child Well-being in 2026 KIDS COUNT Data Book
- Berkeley County Loses Out on Tens of Millions in Property Tax Revenue With Data Center Tax Scheme
- Lawmakers Should Use FY 2026 Revenue Surplus to Prevent Public School Closures
- Tell Governor Morrisey to Protect WV Kids! Urge No Cuts to Programs that Keep Families Together
- Medicaid and SNAP in West Virginia are Critical for Families, Jobs, and Our Local Economy
- The Quantez Burks Report
- Work Requirements for Safety Net Programs Don’t Improve Employment
- Support Our Work and Donate Today!

Read the full newsletter:

West Virginia ranks 41st in child well-being according to the 2026 KIDS COUNT Data Book, a 50-state report of recent data developed by the Annie E. Casey Foundation analyzing how kids are faring nationwide.       The report finds that between 2019 and 2024, West Virginia saw reductions in the ...

06/12/2026

"This week, the 2026 national KIDS COUNT Data Book was released, and the results for West Virginia were mixed, with the Mountain State ranking 41st in the nation.

"Recent policy and budget decisions made at the state and federal levels will undermine the incremental progress this report shows in West Virginia’s child well-being. At the federal level, Congress passed the deepest cuts to Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as Food Stamps) in our nation’s history last summer.

"At the state level, lawmakers have disinvested in the very programs that support children and family well-being including Medicaid, public schools and early childhood education, spending less on these programs than they did in 2019 after adjusting for inflation.

"It is not enough for our leaders to say they support children and families with their words. They must demonstrate this commitment through their policy decisions and in their budgets.

"I urge our federal and state lawmakers to focus their attention on strengthening programs that help children thrive and to invest in whole-family well-being, as parents’ health and security inevitably impacts their children."

Children and families should be central to every decision our leaders make in West Virginia because it is morally right and economically sound. The ability of our people to afford

06/11/2026

Medicaid and SNAP are essential to Mountain State well-being—the programs support local families, bolster our hospitals and retailers, and keep our communities healthy and our economy strong. Medicaid provides health coverage to over 490,294 residents while SNAP provides food assistance to about 15 percent of West Virginians.

In the summer of 2025, Congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill (HR 1) which makes it harder for people to access Medicaid and SNAP, slashes federal funding, and shifts costs onto states. Once fully phased in, West Virginia will lose nearly $1 billion per year in federal Medicaid and SNAP funds.

From the northern panhandle to southern coalfields, Medicaid and SNAP help strengthen our West Virginia communities. In the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing county-by-county fact sheets from all 55 counties across the state.

Stay tuned for your county!

Find our statewide fact sheet and learn more about what's at stake here: https://wvpolicy.org/medicaid-and-snap-in-west-virginia-are-critical-for-families-jobs-and-our-local-economy/

06/11/2026

Every child deserves access to quality education. But for many in West Virginia children, this is becoming increasingly difficult. Since 2011, nearly 140 public schools have closed.

Our new fact sheet details how the FY 2026 revenue surplus can be utilized to prevent public school closures: https://wvpolicy.org/lawmakers-should-use-fy-2026-revenue-surplus-to-prevent-public-school-closures/

This year alone, 14 public school closures and consolidations were approved for the coming school years. It’s past time for lawmakers to modernize the school aid formula, but communities shouldn’t have to lose their public schools in the meantime.

With a commitment of just $28 million of the $313 million FY 2026 surplus, lawmakers can keep the 14 public schools approved for closure open and available to their communities. $40 million from the surplus could be used to reopen closed public schools, support public schools at risk of closure, fill gaps in special education funding, or fund child care assistance.

The bottom line is: Protecting public schools doesn’t break the bank.