‘We have no evidence’ — WV lawmakers question Morrisey administration on school clothing program

“The Legislature does not carry weight on this. It’s the governor’s office that carries the weight on this decision. One-hundred percent, it came from his decision … and now we have to live with it. Our citizens have to live with it, and we need to understand why this developed,” said Sen. Vince Deeds, R-Greenbrier. 

Ayers is three weeks into the job. Deeds said to him, “You need a full measure of grace. You need a lot of prayers too, because this is this is one of those issues that we will not back off on.”

The tense meeting at the state Capitol in Charleston, West Virginia, left lawmakers with little clarity on why the school clothing program launched later than expected last month and the state still hasn’t finished processing an unknown number of applications. 

“There was no reason for delaying this program whatsoever,” said Del. Evan Worrell, R-Cabell, co-chair of the Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and Human Resources Accountability. “This program should have been launched on July 1st of this year, the very same day the governor announced a $370 million surplus. That to me is unacceptable.”

The application window was open for seven days before the program ran out of money, according to Gov. Patrick Morrisey. 

The governor has defended decisions around the long-standing clothing assistance program, pointing to a looming deficit in federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funding that pays for the program. Last year, the state spent around $11.4 million in federal funds to serve 57,000 children. 

Morrisey says the state has less than 13 months — $41 million — in TANF carryover funds at this point. 

“The reason the program was delayed in opening was due to the TANF structural imbalance,” Ayers told lawmakers on the Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and Human Resources Accountability. “So, the governor ordered a look at that and delayed the opening of the program while he was looking at TANF.”

Sen. Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, said that while programs like the school clothing allowance can involve misuse, he believed the state had a moral obligation to make sure needy children could return to school in new clothes. He told the room that as a child, he walked to a nearby bar to ask for bread.

“I think that we have to really keep in mind and look from the perspective of the people that we’re trying to help here, and I think that’s been lost in a lot of this discussion,” Tarr said. 

Lawmakers question Morrisey’s proof of fraud 

More recently, Morrisey has shifted his focus to alleged fraud in the program since the state allows recipients to withdraw their school clothing money from an ATM. 

“I guess I’m not so focused on the cash issue,” said Del. Evan Worrell, R-Cabell, who co-chairs the commission. “I have eight children. Every time I turn around, my wife’s selling clothes on Facebook Marketplace. And I would assume that people get the best bang for the buck.”

Morrisey learned about the ATM use in the last few weeks following an alleged “complaint” about the issue. Publicly, the governor said he worried about people using the clothing voucher on “beer and cigarettes.”

“I do not have any details on who the complainant was,” Ayers said in response to lawmakers’ questioning. Ayers stepped into the role of cabinet secretary July 20, the same day the school clothing program launched. 

Del. Anitra Hamilton, D-Monongalia, described the situation as “a mess.” 

“So, we have no evidence on where the complaints came from, no accountability, no transparency on the complaints that caused our governor to put a full stop on the clothing vouchers,” she said.

DoHS began putting the funds on a EBT card in 2022 during the pandemic and has permitted withdrawals at several locations with ATMs.

“Whenever the benefit is placed on an EBT card, the EBT benefit can be used at ATMs to pull any amount of that benefit, including up to the full amount, off of the card,” Ayers said. “So, as you look at how those benefits are spent, once they are pulled into cash, I have no way to account for how the benefit was spent.”

Ayers provided lawmakers with data he’d collected from the EBT company about how the benefits cards were used, noting that last year, about 50% of the school clothing allowance benefits were taken out by ATM.

His data also showed that 37% were used at retailers like Walmart and Target, 35.5% were received as cash withdrawals at banks, 10.5% were used at convenience stores, 10% were used at clothing retailers and 2% were used at hotels or other miscellaneous retailers. Fewer than 1% were used at alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and gaming locations.

“It is our responsibility to look at how the benefits are being spent, and then to come back and say, ‘How do we tighten the controls around the program and make sure the benefits are being spent as they are supposed to?’ Ayers said.

It wasn’t immediately clear to lawmakers that the data about the use of school clothing vouchers was accurate because other funds — like TANF cash assistance or child support — are loaded onto the same EBT cards.

“That doesn’t seem like the most reliable way to track how the vouchers are actually being used,” said Del. Geno Chiarelli, R-Monongalia. “It seems like there’s data being collected and it’s being analyzed, and it’s being relayed to us as this is how we’re tracking the voucher. I don’t know how we could take that as accurate.”

“I do not understand about who filed the complaint, why there’s been a delay, and why it is still so unsettled, especially since all this money comes out of the same account … There’s no way to prove that anybody is doing anything nefarious with school vouchers, because it all comes off the same EBT card,” Deeds added.

Commission Co-Chair Sen. Brian Helton, R-Fayette, feels that the money must be tracked and agrees with Morrisey’s handling of the situation. He noted cash from the clothing vouchers had been taken out at places like CJ’s Liquor Store and Wanda’s Bar.

“It’s shocking to me that we have not only unaccounted cash going on, but the places that have to be withdrawn — liquor stores, bars, hotels. These are funds that are intended for children in West Virginia,” Helton said. “We’re doing a huge disservice to our state, to our taxpayers. Most importantly, we’re leaving vulnerable children out there without maybe an opportunity to have good clothing and go to school.”

Following the meeting, Morrisey posted on his personal X account: “I want to be very clear:  I support providing school clothing allotments to the neediest West Virginians. However, if we are going to have such a benefit, we should be able to show that the actual monies spent are for SCHOOL CLOTHING!!”

Worrell pressed for more accountability about how the Morrisey administration is spending TANF money outside of the school clothing allowance program. 

“The Legislature doesn’t get to see that TANF (money). It comes into the block grant, we approved $177 million dollars of what was asked for, so we don’t get to see that line,” Worrell said.  “Now, I would like to see where every dollar for TANF is being spent, and then I’m welcome and open to having a conversation on how we reduce that spend, whatever avenue it may be. I’m not going to be one that supports dropping school clothing allowance, but there are other portions paid out.”

SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE