WCPS places staff on leave amid investigation
Warren County Public Schools announced in a press release that staff members at Hilda J. Barbour Elementary School were placed on leave pending an on going investigation.
Administration was made aware of complaints made regarding these staff members.
Then WCPS staff contacted the Warren County Sheriff’s Office and Department of Social Services to conduct a joint investigation into the complaint.
Parents of children in affected classrooms were notified and asked to speak with their children about the situation and told to contact WCPS staff with additional questions.
Staffing has been shifted to continue providing educational and support services to the school.
The investigation is ongoing and no further comments were made.
For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.
Faster Families Highway celebrates successful first year
Governor Glenn Youngkin and the Virginia Department of Social Services announced a highly successful first year of Faster Families Highway.
The digital resource launched in April of 2022 has helped to streamline the process of becoming a foster parent and eliminate many of the historically paper-only processes which created long waiting periods.
Through the program, more than 1,000 potential foster parents have been connected to their local social services department to become registered and expedite the process to begin supporting children and families within their community.
By providing foster parents faster support and training, they are able to reduce the impact of separation related trauma and enable foster parents to begin their role of keeping children in their home communities and work toward the ultimate goal of reuniting children with their families.
For more information about the Faster Families Highway, visit FosterVA.com.
For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.
News Maker Jennifer Parker of DSS on SNAP relief options
Concerns have been raised about the loss of funds after the last of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP emergency funds were delivered.
Beneficiaries are facing financial shortfalls when once those emergency funds are exhausted.
Regional Departments of Social Services are offering assistance in this situation.
We spoke to the Director of Clarke County’s Department of Social Services Jennifer Parker about it in our latest news maker.
News makers are sponsored by Warren County Together We are Community.
Jennifer tells us even if you receive SNAP benefits you are also able to take advantage of food pantries in your area.
She also tells us that there are mobile opportunities that help to reduce the travel concerns in Clarke County.
Jennifer also reminds us that no matter what your personal situation is you can always reach out your local Department of Social Services for help.
Click here for Jennifer’s news maker.
For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.
DSS warns of phishing scam
Virginia Department of Social Services has received reports about a scam that involves P-EBT and EBT cardholders receiving calls or texts telling them to activate their EBT account.
If a user calls the phishing number, it asks for their card number, pin and then to verify the pin before disconnecting.
The number making the request starts in 1-866 and ends in 0486.
This number is not associated with Social Services and is a form of phishing.
State Client Customer Service Helpdesk employees will never call the cardholders to ask for a card number or pin.
If you receive a call or text do not answer or respond to the text and delete the message.
For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.