Alternatives to Waiting for BSS Orientation in West Virginia

If you have contacted BSS about fostering in West Virginia and been told the next orientation session is weeks or months away — or worse, received no callback at all — you are not stuck. There are concrete alternatives that keep your licensing timeline moving forward while the BSS scheduling catches up. The strongest options are licensing through a private child-placing agency (which runs its own orientation and training schedule), beginning home preparation work immediately, and using a licensing guide to complete the knowledge-building that orientation is designed to provide.

The wait for BSS orientation is a known bottleneck in West Virginia's foster care system. BSS district offices serve the entire state across 10 regions, and in rural districts, orientation sessions may only be offered quarterly or even less frequently. Caseworker turnover compounds the problem — the person you initially contacted may no longer be in that role by the time the next session is scheduled. Meanwhile, West Virginia's foster care system is averaging 2.2 children per licensed foster home, and children have been documented sleeping in DHHR offices due to placement shortages. The system needs foster parents urgently, but the entry process does not always reflect that urgency.

Here are the actual alternatives, what each one accomplishes, and the tradeoffs involved.

1. License Through a Private Child-Placing Agency Instead

Private child-placing agencies (CPAs) in West Virginia — including Pressley Ridge, Necco, Burlington United Methodist Family Services, and Children's Home Society — operate their own orientation and training programs. They do not depend on BSS scheduling. If BSS orientation in your district is months away, a private agency can often start your process within weeks.

What this accomplishes: You bypass the BSS scheduling bottleneck entirely. Agencies control their own training calendars, have dedicated staff for foster family recruitment, and typically provide more responsive communication than overburdened BSS district offices.

What you trade: Placement flexibility. When you license through an agency, your placements come through that agency's contracted population. Pressley Ridge specializes in treatment foster care for adolescents with high behavioral needs. Necco provides general foster care but assigns placements from their caseload. You will not receive the full range of BSS referrals (infants, sibling groups, kinship placements) that BSS-licensed parents can access.

Who this works for: Families who are flexible on placement type and want the most responsive support structure. Families in rural areas where no BSS orientation is scheduled in the near term.

Who this does not work for: Families with a specific vision for the type of child they want to foster (especially those hoping for infant or kinship placements), or families who want the broadest possible placement pool.

2. Begin Home Preparation Immediately

You do not need to wait for BSS orientation to start preparing your home for the inspection that comes later in the licensing process. Home preparation is on the critical path regardless of which orientation you attend, and starting early can save you months.

What you can do now:

• Test your well water. Contact your county health department and request a bacteriological water test. If contamination is found, you have time to chlorinate and retest before the official inspection. Lab fee: approximately $25 to $50.
• Service your septic system. If your septic tank has not been pumped in the past 12 months, schedule pumping now. Keep the receipt — BSS will ask for it. Walk your drain field for signs of failure (wet spots, odor, unusually green patches).
• File the SG-55 form. The "Request for Home Loan Evaluation" form initiates the environmental health evaluation through your county health department. Filing it now means the sanitarian can be scheduled as soon as your licensing application is active.
• Install safety items. Smoke detectors near bedrooms and on each level. Fire extinguisher in the kitchen. Cabinet locks on cleaning supplies and medications. Locked storage for firearms and ammunition (separate containers).
• Set up bedrooms. Individual beds for each potential foster child. Maximum four children per room. No opposite-sex sharing. Adequate clothing storage. Crib meeting current safety standards if accepting infant placements.

What this accomplishes: When your BSS application does begin moving, the home inspection — which is one of the most common delay points — is already handled. Rural families who prepare their homes proactively can compress the post-orientation licensing timeline significantly.

What you trade: Nothing meaningful. Every item on this list will be required regardless of when orientation happens. The only risk is investing in preparation and then deciding not to foster, in which case the home improvements (clean water, functioning septic, safety equipment) benefit your family anyway.

3. Use a Licensing Guide to Build Orientation-Level Knowledge

BSS orientation is designed to give prospective foster parents an overview of what fostering in West Virginia involves — the licensing process, the types of children in care, the expectations of foster parents, and the support available. It is informational, not procedural. You do not sign anything or begin your application at orientation.

A West Virginia-specific licensing guide covers the same foundational information and goes deeper into the areas that orientation does not address: the 14-step BCF licensing process in detail, NAS infant care preparation, rural home inspection requirements, BSS district navigation, and PRIDE training logistics.

What this accomplishes: You arrive at orientation (or your first BSS meeting) already knowing the process, the requirements, and the questions to ask. Families who have already done this homework move through the post-orientation steps faster because they are not learning the basics for the first time — they are confirming what they already understand and acting on it.

What you trade: The in-person interaction and Q&A that orientation provides. Orientation also creates a first point of contact with BSS staff, which can be valuable for establishing your application in the system. A guide supplements orientation; it does not fully replace the relationship-building that an in-person session offers.

4. Contact Neighboring Districts for Earlier Orientation Dates

West Virginia's 10 BSS districts operate semi-independently, and orientation schedules vary across them. If your home district's next orientation is months away, call neighboring districts and ask if they have an earlier session.

What this accomplishes: You attend orientation sooner without switching to a private agency. Your licensing application will still be processed through your home district (where the home study occurs), but completing orientation in another district gets the informational requirement out of the way.

What you trade: Travel time. Depending on your location, a neighboring district's orientation site may be 1 to 2 hours away. However, orientation is typically a single session or two short sessions, so the travel burden is much smaller than cross-district PRIDE training (which runs across multiple sessions over several weeks).

How to execute: Call your district office and specifically ask: "If your next orientation is in [month], can I attend orientation in [neighboring district] instead?" BSS staff can usually confirm whether cross-district orientation attendance is accepted.

5. Connect with Mission West Virginia or Church-Based Networks

While not a replacement for BSS orientation, organizations like Mission West Virginia and church-based foster care ministries (such as Foster WV through Chestnut Mountain Village) provide informational sessions, mentorship connections, and community support for prospective foster families.

What this accomplishes: Emotional preparation, peer connections with licensed foster parents, and realistic expectations about what fostering in West Virginia involves. Mission WV also operates the ARE photo-listing service, which — while designed for families already in the adoption process — provides context on the children currently waiting for permanency.

What you trade: These are recruitment and support organizations, not licensing entities. They do not replace orientation, do not process applications, and do not conduct home studies. They are a complement, not an alternative.

Comparison Table

Who This Is For

• Prospective foster parents who contacted BSS and were told the next orientation is months away
• Families who called BSS and never received a callback
• Anyone in a rural district where BSS orientation runs infrequently and the wait feels discouraging
• Families who want to use the waiting period productively rather than passively
• Kinship caregivers who already have a child in their home and cannot afford to wait months for the formal process to begin

Who This Is NOT For

• Families who already have an orientation date scheduled and simply need to prepare for it — the preparation steps above are still useful, but the scheduling problem is solved
• Families who are committed to a specific private agency and are already in their pipeline
• Anyone who has completed orientation and is now waiting on PRIDE training or background checks — those are different bottlenecks with different solutions

Tradeoffs

Moving to a private agency is the fastest path but narrows your options. If time is your primary constraint and you are flexible on placement type, an agency can start your process immediately. But if you specifically want infant placements, kinship licensing, or the broadest possible referral pool, BSS direct licensing is worth the wait — with the caveat that you should use the wait productively.

Home preparation during the wait is the highest-return use of time. The environmental health evaluation is the single most common delay point in the post-orientation licensing process. Completing well water testing, septic servicing, and safety upgrades before your application even starts means that once BSS processes your paperwork, the home inspection becomes a formality rather than a bottleneck.

No alternative fully replaces the BSS relationship. Even if you attend orientation through a neighboring district, prepare your home independently, and build your knowledge through a guide, you will eventually need a working relationship with your home district's BSS office. The caseworker assigned to your home study, the homefinding specialist who schedules your inspection, and the district manager who can escalate stalled paperwork — these are BSS contacts you will need. Starting that relationship proactively, even during the wait, is worth the effort.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is the typical wait for BSS orientation in West Virginia? It varies by district. Urban districts (Region I and II, covering the Northern Panhandle and Kanawha Valley) may hold orientation monthly or bimonthly. Rural districts may hold orientation quarterly or on an as-needed basis when enough prospective families express interest. Some families report waiting 2 to 4 months; others report difficulty getting a returned call at all.

If I license through a private agency, can I switch to BSS later? Yes. Your foster care license meets the same state standards regardless of issuing pathway. Transferring from an agency to BSS (or vice versa) requires a new home study through the receiving entity, but it is a recognized process. Some families start with an agency for the faster timeline and transfer to BSS later for broader placement access.

Does attending orientation in a neighboring district cause problems with my home district? Generally no. The informational content of orientation is standardized. Your actual licensing process — application, home study, background checks, PRIDE training — will be managed by your home district regardless of where you attended orientation. However, confirm with your home district before attending elsewhere to ensure they will accept it.

What if BSS never calls me back? This is a documented issue in overburdened districts. The recommended approach: call your district office directly (not the state 1-800 number), ask for the homefinding specialist by name, and if you cannot reach them, ask for the district manager. Document every call attempt with date, time, and who you spoke with. Consistent, documented follow-up is the most effective strategy in a system where caseworker turnover means your original contact may no longer be in the role.

Can I start PRIDE training before attending orientation? In some districts, yes — particularly if you are licensing through a private agency that bundles orientation and pre-service training. Through BSS, orientation is typically a prerequisite for PRIDE enrollment, but ask your district specifically. If they allow concurrent scheduling, it can compress your timeline significantly.

For the complete BSS licensing roadmap including the 14-step process, PRIDE enrollment strategy, rural inspection preparation, and district contact directory with follow-up scripts, the West Virginia Foster Care Licensing Guide covers every stage from first contact to first placement.

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