Strengthening West Virginia’s child welfare system has been a key discussion point throughout the 2026 legislative session, and House Bill 4601 is part of those conversations.
The proposed bill would establish a West Virginia State Police unit dedicated to investigating child abuse and neglect cases. The unit would include at least 21 retired members, with each of the state’s 21 districts contributing a minimum of one retired officer.
“What I would like to see is us to be able to hire troopers to do that, not retired members, but troopers, because we hire them, we’ll have them for years to come and be able to invest in them and watch them and show it,” West Virginia State Police Superintendent Col. Jim Mitchell said. “Then as other troopers are already seasoned, we can put those then into units like that to offer more investigative services. I think it’s better as a whole for the department to hire troopers for that.”
Funding concerns for the proposed unit were raised during a House Judiciary meeting on Tuesday morning.
Lonnie Faircloth, president of the West Virginia Troopers Association, told lawmakers he supports the bill but said the State Police would not be able to afford it. He explained that current funding levels are already strained and uncertainty remains about what funding will look like in 2027.
When lawmakers asked whether there would be enough troopers to continue operating statewide, Faircloth said no. He noted the agency is currently in a testing phase and may, for the first time in years, have to turn applicants away.
“From my understanding, the governor was taking funding for 30 positions last year for this, this Fiscal Year 2026,” Faircloth said.
WCHS-TV reached out to Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s office for comment but did not receive a response.
Despite the concerns, Mitchell remains hopeful, saying the department continues to add troopers and secure the equipment needed.
“So far we’ve done well. We’ve been able to buy weapons, cars, been able to still hire people, still hiring people, troopers. So we’re doing quite well with all of that,” he said.