Senate Bill No. 297
(By Senators Lucht and Felton)
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[Introduced March 5, 1993; referred to the Committee
on Government Organization; and then to the Committee on
Finance.]
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A BILL to amend chapter forty-nine of the code of West Virginia,
one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding
thereto a new article, designated article five-d, relating
to creation of interagency planning and placement
committees; requiring the secretary of the department of
health and human resources to make services of interagency
planning and placement committees available within each
judicial circuit; members on committees; authorizing courts
to use the services of an interagency planning and placement
committee; population to be served; procedures; development
of individualized service plan; monitoring responsibilities
of department of health and human resources; interagency
cooperation; and confidentiality.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That chapter forty-nine of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by
adding thereto a new article, designated article five-d, to readas follows:
ARTICLE 5D. INTERAGENCY PLANNING AND PLACEMENT COMMITTEES.
§49-5D-1. Purpose.
The purpose of this article is to provide a system for
evaluation of minor children, prior to placement by court order
for long periods of time outside their homes, so that placements
are appropriate to the needs of the child. It is further the
purpose of this article to establish an interagency planning and
placement committee to assist courts and agencies charged with
providing services to youth under the age of twenty-one years, to
evaluate alternatives with respect to placements and services and
to coordinate interagency planning.
§49-5D-2. Interagency planning and placement committees;
establishment; members.
The secretary of the department of health and human
resources shall make available the services of an interagency
planning and placement committee, hereinafter referred to as the
IPPC, within each judicial circuit of the state. The IPPC shall
consist of a representative from the department of health and
human resources office of social services, the county boards of
education, and community behavioral health centers. Each of
these agencies shall designate a local representative or
representatives for each circuit within thirty days of the
initial effective date of this article. Any other agency or
person who may contribute positively to efforts to assist youth
referred to the committee may be included on the committee at thediscretion of the permanent members on a case-by-case basis. The
secretary of the department of health and human resources shall
notify the chief judge of each circuit of the names of the
standing representatives so designated within fifteen days of
their designation.
§49-5D-3. Procedures; powers and duties; organizational and
monitoring responsibilities of the department of health and
human resources.
(a) Whenever, after final adjudication of a matter involving
a minor child appearing before the circuit court pursuant to the
provisions of article five or six of this chapter, the court is
considering placement outside the child's home and it is
anticipated that the period would exceed ten calendar days, the
circuit court may direct, upon motion by any party or upon the
court's own motion, that the minor child be referred to the IPPC
for evaluation and service recommendations.
(b) When the IPPC receives a referral from the circuit
court, it shall forthwith direct and coordinate an evaluation
appropriate to the youth's circumstances. The IPPC shall meet,
review any diagnostic reports received as part of the evaluation,
and develop a recommendation with regard to future services the
youth might need as well as a recommendation regarding
disposition or placement appropriate to his or her needs.
(c) With respect to proceedings under article five of this
chapter, juvenile probation officers may choose to attend
meetings of the IPPC. The youth's attorney shall be invited toparticipate in all meetings. If considered appropriate by all
those attending the meeting, the prosecuting attorney may also
attend meetings of the IPPC held with respect to proceedings
under article five of this chapter.
(d) Upon the completion of the evaluation and the youth's
return to court, the court shall consider the evaluation and any
recommendations submitted by the IPPC. With respect to orders
placing a minor child outside his or her home, if the court
determines to order an out-of-home placement inconsistent with
the IPPC's recommendation, the court shall enter the reasons for
such determination into the court record.
(e) Any agency member of the IPPC may refer to the committee
any youth under the age of twenty-one years who requires services
not readily available in the community or accessible by a single
state agency. Prior to initiating the referral, the agency
employee responsible for case management services for the youth
referred shall prepare, collect, or otherwise assemble all
reasonably accessible information, data or other documents
necessary to assist the IPPC in developing a plan. Upon
receiving the referral, the IPPC shall, after review, develop an
individualized service plan. The individualized service plan
shall:
(1) Specify the services to be provided, including further
evaluation if needed;
(2) Name the specific individual and agency to provide each
service;
(3) Identify sources of funding used to provide the services
and the persons responsible for securing these funds;
(4) Name the agency and individual responsible for case
management;
(5) Specify how the case shall be monitored and evaluated;
(6) Document parental/custodial and client agreement or
disagreement with the service plan;
(7) Document the agency's agreement to participate in the
service plan; and
(8) Provide for case review.
(f) The secretary of the department of health and human
resources, or his or her designee, shall, with the assistance of
the county board of education, organize, convene and monitor the
IPPC and coordinate the provision of services needed to implement
the IPPC's decision including preparation of recommendations to
courts. In addition, the secretary of the department of health
and human resources, with the assistance of the county board of
education, shall implement and operate a statewide tracking and
monitoring system to follow the youth through the various agency
systems with which the youth becomes involved during the course
of IPPC participation.
§49-5D-4. Diagnostic services; members; responsibilities.
The IPPC may use diagnostic services to evaluate minor
children being considered by courts for out-of-home placement.
Diagnostic services shall include existing public and private
service providers in the area and may include representatives ofcommunity mental health centers, school psychologists and
counselors, as well as other qualified mental health, health,
education and social service professionals:
Provided,
That
whenever possible the diagnostic services shall involve persons
whose practices are located in the judicial circuit in which the
minor child appears. If such persons are not available in the
judicial circuit, the services shall be provided at a location as
close as practicable to the minor child's residence or place of
temporary placement.
§49-5D-5. Interdisciplinary cooperation; confidentiality.
To effectuate the purposes of this article, all departments,
boards, bureaus and other agencies of the state or any of its
political subdivisions, and all community behavioral health
centers shall, upon request, provide to the IPPC and the agency
designated to provide case management services, such assistance
and information as available as will enable them to fulfill their
responsibilities. The IPPC and agency designated shall assure
confidentiality of all information received and generated.
The secretary of the department of health and human
resources shall promulgate legislative rules, in accordance with
the provisions of chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, to define
the term "confidentiality" as used in this section, and to set
forth procedures to be followed in acquiring the requested
information.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to establish interagencyplanning and placement committees to assist courts when minor
children are being considered for long-term out-of-home placement
and to develop plans and coordinate services for youth requiring
multiagency services.
This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.
This bill is recommended by the Legislative Commission on
Juvenile Law for passage at this session.