West Virginia Foster Care Challenge Will Remain in Federal Court

Representatives of West Virginia foster children who say the state’s child welfare system is overburdened and ineptly managed revived their proposed class action when the Fourth Circuit ruled Wednesday that the case belongs in federal court.

The case brought on behalf of the state’s nearly 7,000 foster children can use the federal court system to challenge alleged inadequacies in the care provided by the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit said. The fact that West Virginia state courts play a supervisory role the foster care system presents no reason ...