CHARLESTON ­– Giving his first detailed statement since his firing by the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources last Thursday, former deputy secretary Jeremiah Samples cited a difference of opinion on how to best solve the problems the agency is trying to address.

In a full statement released Monday morning, Samples thanked Gov. Jim Justice and DHHR Cabinet Secretary Bill Crouch for allowing him to serve as DHHR deputy secretary since 2017. However, Samples said he and Crouch fell out over how to address fixing the agency and how to address the major health and social problems the agency is charged with fixing.

“Unfortunately, Secretary Crouch and I have not shared the same views on what the problems are, how to handle them, or the urgency of achieving results, but I respect this parting of ways and pray for the State’s success in solving these issues,” Samples said.

DHHR fired Samples Thursday afternoon with news leaking out about the firing Friday morning taking current and former DHHR employees, lawmakers and friends of Samples by surprise. DHHR released a statement Friday morning confirming that Samples was no longer employed by DHHR, but declining to comment further, citing personnel issues. Samples issued a brief statement Friday night, stating he would release a full statement Monday.

In his detailed statement, Samples praised Justice and the Legislature for allocating more funding and resources to DHHR over the last several years. However, Samples said despite this level of support, DHHR continues to address a number of serious health and social issues.

“Despite having an allocated budget of $7.5 BILLION, tireless dedication by wonderful staff and Commissioners, and an expectation for success from the Governor, DHHR has struggled to make and even lost, progress in many critical areas,” Samples said.

When asked about Samples’ departure Monday on his virtual briefing, Justice declined to talk specifically about Samples except to thank him for his service and to pledge to improve DHHR going forward.

“I’m not going to get into personnel matters with an individual and everything. I’m not going to do that because a lot of those specifics I don’t know and it’s really not proper for me to do that,” Justice said. “I’m going to thank Jeremiah for the work that he did here, but at the end of the day…I will fix it and I will bring in experts to do a review and from top to bottom. Once we find the deficiencies and what we should do, we’ll fix it. My secretaries know I demand really, really good work out of them.”

Crouch, also on Monday’s virtual briefing, would not specifically comment on the circumstances of Samples’ departure. As deputy secretary, Samples was second only to Crouch at DHHR.

“This is a personnel issue and we’re not going to get into the details of this,” Crouch said. “As the Governor says, we all have to pull the rope in the same direction. This is a large agency, and we have to have everyone on board in terms of what we’re doing and we’ve got to meet the goals out there of helping people who are in need, our vulnerable population, and making sure the safety nets are there for them.”

Last month, Justice also vowed to have a top-down review of DHHR done after vetoing House Bill 4020 passed during the 2022 legislative session that would have split DHHR into two cabinet departments. Speaking Monday, Justice acknowledged issues at DHHR but said HB 4020 would not have solved DHHR’s problems.

“All of us know there are challenges and issues within DHHR, and they’re not new…they’ve been around for decades and decades and decades,” Justice said. “We try to make things better, there’s no question…but to hastily pump out a bill that we could have blown our legs out with, we could have had something where we would have lost some level of funding from the federal government.”

“I’m in complete agreement with the Governor,” Crouch said. “I have been since day one with regard to hiring a consultant to look at the department top to bottom…we are an open agency. Not only are we in complete agreement with the Governor, but if the decision is to split the department, I will make sure that happens in the best way possible for the citizens of West Virginia.”

“Child welfare, substance use disorder, protection of the vulnerable, management of state health facilities, EMS and provider capacity, supporting client transition from public assistance to the workforce, contract management, and many more DHHR responsibilities have simply not met anyone’s expectation, especially my own,” Samples continued. “While the answers to these problems are complex, solutions must be found. As a society, we can never forget that every statistic is a real person. We must do better.”

Samples has more than 15 years with DHHR, including serving as an assistant to the cabinet secretary starting in 2013 and moving up to deputy secretary in 2017 after newly elected Gov. Justice appointed Crouch as DHHR secretary. Prior to returning to DHHR in 2013, Samples had prior leadership roles at the Governor’s Office of Health Enhancement and Lifestyle Planning and the West Virginia Offices of the Insurance Commissioner.

One of the biggest struggles for DHHR has been the foster care crisis, driven in part by the state’s opioid crisis as well as increased numbers of abuse and neglect cases. According to the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, more than 35,000 abuse and neglect cases were filed in county courts between 2011 and 2018, representing 51% of all new juvenile cases.

According to the latest data from DHHR, the number of foster children increased by more than 58% over the last decade, from 4,183 in March 2012 to 6,618 as of March this year. The Legislature has passed several bills over the last few years making reforms to the foster care system, though an attempt to pass another bill this year failed after it was gutted at the request of DHHR.

“For every child protected from harm and family supported, I am far more cognizant, even haunted, by those that have not been saved or that will go unsaved tomorrow,” Samples said. “I cannot properly articulate the level of responsibility I personally feel for those suffering and struggling that I have not been able to help.”

Samples said he planned to continue working on health and social issues facing the state.

“I remain full of hope. My departure from DHHR is an opportunity to rededicate myself to serving West Virginia and our people,” Samples said. “Despite our challenges, I feel positive about the future and the many new ways that I can help our State. I look forward to continuing this work with dedicated partners moving forward. Thank you for allowing me to serve you.”