By Amelia Ferrell Knisely, The Register-Herald
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — More than $173 million has been spent on two database systems – one of which was never implemented and another still being built – that the state health department was supposed to oversee. Both databases were aimed at improving the lives of West Virginia residents, including children in the state foster care system.
The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources contracted with a company in 2017 to develop a system, known as WV PATH, that was supposed to help the agency better manage programs including Medicaid, food assistance and its child welfare system.
With less than four years left on the contract, the project still isn’t complete. Senate Finance Committee Chair Eric Tarr, who has questioned DHHR about the missing database, said the project has cost $173 million as of July 2022 based on information from DHHR.
Jessica Holstein, DHHR spokesperson, said in an email that the Covid-19 pandemic “halted the project momentum.” …
