State says CPS never received referral from police about Boone County child

Department of Human Services Secretary Cynthia Persily, seen here speaking to lawmakers on April 25, 2024 in Charleston, W.Va., said in a statement that Child Protective Services never received an abuse or neglect referral related to the death of a 14-year-old girl in Boone County. (Will Price | West Virginia Legislative Photography)

The leader of the Department of Human Services says the agency never received an abuse or neglect referral related to the death of a 14-year-old girl who was found emaciated in Boone County.

DoHS Secretary Cynthia Persily said in a press release that the agency “was therefore not involved in the life of this child prior to her passing.”

In April, police found Kyneddi Miller in a ”‘skeletal state” on the bathroom floor of her home. Her mother and grandparents were charged with child neglect causing death. 

“We are doing everything in the department’s power to investigate the complex set of circumstances surrounding this tragedy,” Persily wrote in a statement.

DoHS has faced criticism for hiding behind child confidentiality laws to avoid answering questions about whether Child Protective Services, which is under DoHS, was aware of the girl before she died. The department denied Freedom of Information Act requests about the case. 

CPS workers have investigated only about half of child abuse and/or neglect referrals in the state-mandated timeframe.

Last fall, CPS couldn’t produce travel records showing that they had followed up on a referral about children who were found living in a shed without running water or a toilet. 

Amid other transparency concerns at the department, there have been conflicting reports about the CPS involvement with Kynnedi. Gov. Jim Justice walked back his own comments that CPS wasn’t aware of the child. 

Neighbors said that they called CPS about Kynnedi, and, through the Freedom of Information Act, media outlets have shared documents showing that West Virginia State Police said they’d made a CPS referral about the girl in March 2023.

WCHS also shared audio where a state trooper said that he was making a CPS referral for the girl “to look in on her.”  

Persily said that “a comprehensive search of DoHS records suggest no referral was ever made.”

WVSP did not return multiple requests for comment for this story. 

While Persily began her statement by saying that DoHS wasn’t “involved in the child’s life,” she said that previous CPS cases in 2009 and 2017 to the same home “have nothing to do with the death of this young lady.”

WSAZ had reported that the news outlet received a whistleblower letter detailing two referrals to CPS involving the girl.

“We are extremely disappointed by the disclosure of information relating to those prior matters by an anonymous informant and by members of the local media,” Persily said. “The department is prepared to make any and all criminal referrals to the appropriate authorities regarding this disclosure.”

She added, “DoHS continues to be affected by this heartbreaking loss and are leaving no stone unturned when it comes to developing policy that will address such horrors in the future.” 

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