On this West Virginia Morning, we visit the only Maronite church in West Virginia where one young man in the congregation is trying to keep the traditions alive. Also, we listen to this week’s Mountain Stage Song of the Week brought to us by Birds of Chicago.
Clara Haizlett reported this story
Leading up to the pandemic, lawmakers and advocates were making significant strides to improve Virginia’s foster care system. But now, advocates say they’re back to where they started.
Allison Gilbreath is the policy and programs director at Voices for Virginia’s Children.
“It s not necessarily that anything extraordinarily new is happening within foster care,” Gilbreath said. “It s just, we hadn t even gotten the band aid on correctly in the first place. And then this happened.”
In 2018, Virginia’s Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission performed a year-long study on the foster care system. The report revealed systemic issues in Virginia’s foster care system, including a lack of adherence to “basic safety requirements.” Gilbreath says the findings were “devastating” to the General Assembly.
Connie Kitts-Bailey topping off gingerbread cake with her cousin Alice Bailey Nunn. Nunn s dad, Jim Bailey, made the sorghum used in the recipe.
Have you ever noticed how conversations about food can lead us to learn surprising things about each other? In this week’s episode of
Inside Appalachia, we talk about holiday foods. We’ve got recipes for things like cranberry salad, sorghum gingerbread, and pecan pie. But more than recipes, this show is about the power of memory, and tradition.
Co-host Caitlin Tan shares her grandmother’s recipe for stollen, a special German sweet bread that she makes each Christmas. And co-host Mason Adams sits down with his mom to talk about baking cookies during the holidays. Their conversation led her to divulge a secret. “Oh goodness, I love to make cookies.
Pandemic Wears on Foster Children and Parents
As with most families, the stress and seclusion of the pandemic is wearing on foster children and parents, with some restrictions creating potentially traumatic experiences. (Photo: Clara Haizlett reported this story
At the start of the pandemic, it was uncertain how the foster care system would be affected, but the impact is becoming more evident as the year comes to a close.
The Virginia Department of Social Services estimates there are currently over 5,000 children in the state’s foster care system and over 6,500 approved foster and adoptive families. This year, the agency saw the number of adoptions grow to the second highest on record since 2016.
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Hanukkah begins Thursday night, though celebrations are likely to be vastly different this year. (Photo: cottonbro) Clara Haizlett reported this story
Religious communities observing holidays this December are modifying their usual celebrations.
Diego Fernandez is the pastor at Iglesia Vida Nueva in Richmond. Over 14 different nationalities are represented in the roughly 120 member congregation, the majority of them from Latin America.
In previous years, Fernandez says they’ve always had a Christmas service on Dec. 24, and after, the whole church gets together for dinner.
“This year it’s going to be totally different,” he said. “This year all the Christmas activities are cancelled, all the special services and the dinner. Every family will celebrate alone in their home.”