ENROLLED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 3336
(By Delegate Perdue)
(Passed April 11, 2009; in effect ninety days from passage.)
AN ACT to amend and reenact §16-5K-2 and §16-5K-6 of the Code of
West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to authorizing the
Bureau for Public Health to continue providing early
intervention services to families with developmentally delayed
infants and toddlers; authorizes the ability to charge fees on
a sliding scale and to bill third party payers; and
established that any fees or payments by third party payers
will go into the Birth-to-Three Fund.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §16-5K-2 and §16-5K-6 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931,
as amended, be amended and reenacted, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5K. EARLY INTERVENTION SERVICES FOR CHILDREN WITH
DEVELOPMENTAL DELAYS.
§16-5K-2. Definitions.
Unless the context clearly otherwise indicates, as used in this article:
(a) "Bureau" means the Bureau for Children and Families Public
Health within the Department of Health and Human Resources.
(b) "Council" means the Governor's Early Intervention
Interagency Coordinating Council.
(c) "Department" means the Department of Health and Human
Resources.
(d) "Early intervention services" means developmental services
which:
(1) Are designed to meet the developmental needs of
developmentally delayed infants and toddlers and the needs of the
family related to enhancing the child's development;
(2) Are selected in collaboration with the parents;
(3) Are provided under public supervision in conformity with
an individualized family service plan;
(4) Are provided either at no charge, fees based on a sliding
scale, or charges to third party payers and do not restrict access
or services because of a client's financial limitations;
(5) Meet the state's early intervention standards, as
established by the Department of Health and Human Resources with
the assistance of the Governor's Early Intervention Interagency
Coordinating Council;
(6) Include assistive technology, audiology, audiology case
management, family training, counseling and home visits, health
services necessary to enable a child to benefit from other early intervention services, medical services only for diagnostic or
evaluation purposes, nursing services, nutrition services,
occupational therapy, physical therapy, psychological services,
social work services, special instruction, speech-language
pathology, vision and transportation; and
(7) Are provided by licensed or otherwise qualified personnel,
including audiologists, family therapists, nurses, nutritionists,
occupational therapists, orientation and mobility specialists,
physical therapists, physicians, psychologists, social workers,
special educators, speech-language pathologists and
paraprofessionals appropriately trained and supervised.
(e) "Infants and toddlers with developmental delay" means
children from birth to thirty-six months of age who need early
intervention services for any of the following reasons:
(1) They are experiencing developmental delays, as measured by
appropriate methods and procedures, in one or more of the following
areas: Cognitive, physical, including visual and hearing,
communicative, adaptive, social, language and speech, or psycho-
social development or self-help skills; or
(2) They have a diagnosed physical or mental condition that
has a high probability of resulting in developmental delay; or
(3) They are at risk of having substantial developmental
delays if early intervention services are not provided.
§16-5K-6. West Virginia Birth-to-Three Fund.
(a) There is hereby created in the state treasury a fund to be known as the "West Virginia Birth-to-Three Fund" that shall be an
interest-bearing account established and maintained to pay costs,
fees and expenses incurred, or to be incurred, for early
intervention services for children who are developmentally delayed.
(b) Funds deposited into this account shall be derived from
the following sources:
(1) Any appropriations by the Legislature;
(2) Fund transfers from any fund of the divisions of the
department of health and human resources that, in whole or in part,
supports early intervention services;
(3) All public funds transferred by any public agency as
permitted by applicable law;
(4) Any private funds contributed, donated or bequeathed by
corporations, individuals or other entities; and
(5) All proceeds from fees paid by the client or third party
payers; and
(6) All interest or return on investments accruing to the
fund.
(c) Moneys deposited in this fund shall be used exclusively to
provide early intervention services to accomplish the purposes of
this article. Expenditures of moneys deposited in this fund are to
be made in accordance with appropriation by the Legislature and in
accordance with article three, chapter twelve of this code and upon
the fulfillment of the provisions of article two, chapter five-a of
this code: Provided, That for the fiscal year ending the thirtieth day of June, two thousand three, expenditures are authorized from
deposits rather than pursuant to appropriation by the Legislature.
(d) Any balance remaining in this fund at the end of any state
fiscal year shall not revert to the state treasury but shall remain
in this fund and shall be used only in a manner consistent with
this article.