West Virginia DHHR will not audit for Cabell County’s needle exchange program

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources will not move forward with an audit of Cabell County’s syringe services program.

The Cabell County Commission requested an audit in December 2022 after passing a resolution for the DHHR and OHFLAC to conduct an evaluation and audit of the country’s harm-reduction syringe exchange program.

County Commission approves of needle exchange audit

In the letter obtained by WSAZ, the “request is beyond the scope of OHFLAC’s authority. OHFLAC does not conduct audits upon the request of other entities.”

According to the West Virginia state code, OHFLAC is mandated to:

Conduct unannounced inspections of a syringe services program for cause if the Director has received a complaint about the program or has reason to believe that the program may be operating in violation of federal or state statutes, rules, or regulations. W. Va. Code St. R. §69-17-4.1.

According to DHHR, OHFLAC has not received any complaints concerning this program.

The Cabell County Harm reduction program reported the program in the last 12 months served a total number of 652 participants.

Complaints regarding alleged or actual violations of the requirements for Syring Services Programs or any other OHFLAC-regulated program may be filed by telephone at 304-558-0050.

Keep checking the WSAZ app.