West Virginia is placing foster children not only in hotels when no other beds are available, but also in short-term rental properties such as Airbnbs, according to state officials and recent legislative testimony. The practice highlights a child welfare system strained by bed shortages, growing mental health needs, and an overwhelmed court system.
The issue drew renewed attention Thursday after West Virginia Watch reported that a foster child was injured while staying at an Airbnb arranged by the state as temporary housing.
The scrutiny comes less than a year after Kanawha County Circuit Judge Maryclaire Akers ordered a court-appointed monitor to oversee the state’s use of unlicensed facilities. That decision followed an incident in which a child placed in a hotel attempted suicide. Judge Akers appointed Cindy Largent-Hill, director of children’s services for the West Virginia Supreme Court, to monitor placement decisions.
On Thursday, Largent-Hill told the House Judiciary Committee the state continues to average between 15 and 25 children per day in hotels. When asked by a lawmaker about Airbnb use, she confirmed those numbers include children placed in short-term rental properties.
“The hotel is a symptom. Using hotels is a symptom of an issue within the entire child welfare system,” Largent-Hill said.
She added that about 400 children are currently receiving services out of state. “That’s higher than it’s been in quite a while,” she said.
Largent-Hill told lawmakers the same policies apply whether a child is placed in a hotel or an Airbnb.
Following Judge Akers’ involvement, the Department of Human Services revised its policies to align with court recommendations and strengthen supervision.
The updated 2025 policy includes two key changes. It now requires staff to notify the judge and treatment team within 24 hours of any suicide attempt or medical emergency that results in medical care or a law enforcement response, a requirement not included in the 2024 policy.
The revised policy also mandates that all children placed in temporary lodging be supervised by two staff members. Previously, two-staff coverage was only required for children with complex needs. The policy recommends two staff during the day and requires two staff overnight with alternating sleep schedules.
Despite these changes, Largent-Hill said the state has not seen a meaningful reduction in hotel placements because available beds continue to decline. West Virginia has lost 149 in-state residential treatment beds since 2020 and now has no psychiatric residential treatment facility beds for long-term stays, with only limited short-term acute psychiatric beds remaining.
That shortage often forces foster youth, particularly those with mental health or behavioral needs, into temporary lodging or out-of-state placements.
“When you need a psychiatric bed, and you have a child who wants to hurt him or herself, and you want to keep them safe, you’ve got to look for that type of bed,” she said.
Largent-Hill also reported that 5,018 child abuse and neglect petitions were filed statewide in 2025, a 9% decrease from 2024, though 18 counties saw increases. Many cases remain open longer than 12 months, delaying permanency for children.
She said the number of attorneys willing to handle abuse and neglect cases or serve as guardians ad litem has dropped to 187 statewide, with some rural circuits relying on just one attorney. About one-third of youth in secure juvenile detention have significant mental health or developmental needs, and 37% have been involved in a child abuse or neglect case.
“These are our children, and all of us should be working together, and all of us should be willing to roll up our sleeves and figure out how we can take care of our children,” Largent-Hill said. “There’s a lot of agreement that we have a problem. We talk about it all the time, but that’s not really going to fix it, is it?”
During his State of the State address Wednesday night, Gov. Patrick Morrisey urged lawmakers to support a $6 million “Bring Them Home Fund” to return out-of-state foster children to West Virginia.
“Our theory is, if we rebuild some of these state facilities and are attractive enough, and you have the right providers, we can start to bring some of our kids home,” Morrisey said. “That’s not only good for our communities, it’s also good financially.”
For Largent-Hill, the use of hotels and Airbnbs reflects just one aspect of a system under intense strain.
“I won’t deny it was really a struggle to think about a lot of positives with what I just shared with you,” she said. “We have fewer in-state beds. We have more kids going out of state. The situations we read about and hear about are heart-wrenching. Sadly, there’s no quick, easy remedy or fix.”