CHARLESTON — Despite telling reporters two weeks ago that Child Protective Services had no clue about the situation that led to the death of a Boone County girl, Gov. Jim Justice said he was given bad information, while officials continue to hide behind their interpretation of state privacy laws.

Speaking during his weekly administration briefing Wednesday from the State Capitol Building, Justice said he mistakenly provided wrong information on his April 23 briefing regarding the death of a 14-year-old girl in Boone County after law enforcement officers found her in what they called a “skeletal state” due to years of malnutrition.

During that briefing, Justice confirmed that Child Protective Service (CPS) workers within the state Department of Human Services (DoHS) were unaware of the circumstances behind the girl’s death. The child’s mother, 49-year-old Julie Anne Stone Miller, was charged in April with child neglect causing death after deputies found the girl who had suffered for years from malnutrition.

“I would tell you what I told you two weeks ago to the very best of all the abilities I have in me was 100% accurate. Will I stand behind what was said two weeks ago now that I know the information that I know today? No way,” Justice said.

According to reporting from multiple media outlets, including WCHS-TV and West Virginia Watch, family members had observed the girl’s condition deteriorate over the last several months and years, with the girl in and out of school during that period. Family members also told reporters that CPS had been contacted.

Justice placed the blame for the bad information provided two weeks ago on attorneys for DoHS, one of three departments that were once part of the former Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR).

“We’ve got basically attorneys that are with DHHR and they screw it up, and then when they give us information, then we’ve got to act on the information that they give us, and that’s exactly what happened,” Justice said. “Am I disappointed that the information that they gave me that I gave you was in error? You’re doggone right.”

DoHS has been fighting any efforts by media outlets, members of the West Virginia Legislature, and the public to seek information from CPS as to whether CPS had received any complaints about the Boone County family or had conducted any visits, hiding behind their interpretation of state and federal law which they say tie their hands on providing any information. A recent Freedom of Information Act request by West Virginia Watch to CPS for travel records and referrals was denied.

“Our lawyers have traditionally interpreted the state and federal statutes as us not being allowed to just disclose any information except to very limited groups, and that information is for those groups to be able to do their duty related to prevention of child abuse neglect,” said Cynthia Persily, cabinet secretary of DoHS, who joined Justice on Wednesday’s briefing.

State Code 49-5-101 says that all records concerning children that DoHS maintains are confidential. The federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) requires states to preserve the confidentiality of child abuse and neglect reports to preserve the rights of children and parents/guardians. But it does allow states to authorize limited access to information as long as state officials guarantee the safety and wellbeing of children and parents/guardians.

Other states allow the release of certain information involving CPS cases – such as child fatality cases in the event of criminal charges. Persily said DoHS is looking at these state laws and considering changes to West Virginia Code.

But Persily said she believes the state is already in compliance with CAPTA requirements that states make available information regarding child fatalities, such as the circumstances, age and gender, and prior reports of abuse and neglect. State Code also requires the state to make public information relating to child fatalities. Persily said DoHS provides very basic child fatality data in annual reports.

“Our interpretation of fulfilling the federal requirement about reporting fatalities has been that our critical incident report that we provide annually fulfills that federal requirement,” Persily said. “That report, of course, has not been reported on in the media.”