Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals rules for children in foster care reform case; VPLC joined amicus brief

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals this month ruled on behalf of children in the foster care system in a case brought against the West Virginia Department of Human Services. VPLC had joined 32 other amicus (friend of the court) organizations, in a brief filed in support of the children by the National Center for Youth Law.

In the case of Jonathan R. v. Morrisey, No. 25-1232 (4th Cir. 2026), the Fourth Circuit reviewed a decision by the US District court for the Southern District of West Virginia. That decision had dismissed a lawsuit filed by children in the foster care system, claiming due process violations. The court’s dismissal was on the grounds that the children lacked “standing” to bring their case, which the court found meant it lacked the power to order the requested relief.

The case was appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, located in Richmond, just across the street from VPLC’s offices. VPLC joined in the brief, along with other organizations advocating for children in the foster care system, because many such systems, including Virginia’s, are deeply flawed.

The amicus brief argued that federal district courts have both the power and the duty to review and order reform of institutions such as foster care systems when they fail, violate rights, and cause harm. The Fourth Circuit agreed, ruling that the children could “seek the requested prospective forms of relief to redress their injuries, including injunctive and declaratory relief. Plaintiffs accordingly have standing.” It reversed the district court’s dismissal, sending the case back to be heard on the merits.

The West Virginia district court, in its dismissal of the case, stated that it was “powerless” to act, though it admitted the “foster care system has cycled through inaction, bureaucratic indifference, shocking neglect, and temporary fixes for years.” The court found that the wrongs for which the children asked the court to order redress could not be addressed by the court, with the only solution “the ballot box” (perhaps forgetting that children can’t vote?).

The children’s lawsuit claimed violations of their rights under the Constitution. Those rights include, among others, freedom from maltreatment while in the custody of the state of West Virginia, the right to needed services, the right to treatment and care consistent with the reason they came into government custody, and the right to only spend as much time in care as necessary. The plaintiff children also argued that the state failed to provide services to disabled children in foster care.

The children asked the court to address these wrongs by appointing a monitor to oversee the system, and ordering the West Virginia Department of Human Services to, among other things, take certain corrective actions, conduct timely evaluations of children’s needs, provide needed services, properly plan for reunification with the child’s parents or other permanency options, provide safe placements, and follow state and federal laws and regulations.

The District court insisted it was not allowed, under the Constitution, to order such relief. But the Fourth Circuit pointed out that “longstanding precedent firmly bestows federal courts with the power to mandate and oversee the reform of state institutions when they systematically deprive citizens of constitutional rights.”

The Fourth Circuit found that “Federal courts not only have the authority, but also a duty, to remedy systemic constitutional rights violations.” In other words, the court, because it is the branch of government with the power to determine when constitutional rights have been violated, and to enforce such rights, not only can, but must act to make such a determination and order the state to take action to correct any violations it finds.

VPLC hopes that this is the first step toward necessary improvements to the foster care system in West Virginia—and the other states in the Fourth Circuit.

You can listen to the oral arguments in the Fourth Circuit here: https://www.courtlistener.com/audio/100273/jonathan-r-v-patrick-morrisey/