H. B. 4500
(By Delegates Webster, Mahan, Long, Campbell,
Iaquinta, Staggers, Yost, Varner and Ennis)
[Introduced February 12, 2008; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §15-2C-1 and §15-2C-6 of the Code of
West Virginia, 1931, as amended, and to amend said code by
adding a new section, designated §15-2C-9, all relating to
providing qualified entities access to the West Virginia
Central Abuse Registry; defining the responsibilities of
qualified entities; and establishing fees for requests by
qualified entities.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §15-2C-1 and §15-2C-6 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931,
as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that said code be amended
by adding a new section, designated §15-2C-9
,
to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2C. CENTRAL ABUSE REGISTRY.
§15-2C-1. Definitions.
The following words when used in this article have meanings
ascribed to them in this section, except in those instances where
the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
(a) "Central abuse registry" or "registry" means the registry
created by this article which shall contain the names of
individuals who have been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor
offense constituting abuse, neglect or misappropriation of the
property of a child or an incapacitated adult or an adult receiving
behavioral health services.
(b) "Child abuse and neglect" or "child abuse or neglect"
means those terms as defined in section three, article one, chapter
forty-nine of this code, and shall include any act with respect to
a child which is a crime against the person pursuant to article
two, chapter sixty-one of this code, any act which is unlawful
pursuant to article eight-d of said chapter sixty-one, and any
offense with respect to a child which is enumerated in section
three of this article.
(c) "Abuse or neglect of an incapacitated adult" means
"abuse," "neglect" and "incapacitated adult" as those terms are
defined in section one, article six, chapter nine, and shall
include any act with respect to an incapacitated adult which is a
crime against the person pursuant to article two, chapter sixty-one
of this code, and any offense with respect to an incapacitated
adult which is enumerated in section three of this article.
(d) "Adult receiving behavioral health services" means a
person over the age of eighteen years who is receiving any
behavioral health service from a licensed behavioral health
provider or any behavioral health provider whose services are paid for, in whole or in part, by medicaid or medicare.
(e) "Conviction" of a felony or a misdemeanor means an
adjudication of guilt by a court or jury following a hearing on the
merits, or entry of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere.
(f) "Residential care facility" means any facility where a
child or an incapacitated adult or an adult receiving behavioral
health services resides which is subject to registration, licensure
or certification by the department of health and human resources,
and shall include nursing homes, personal care homes, residential
board and care homes, adult family care homes, group homes, legally
unlicensed service providers, residential child care facilities,
family based foster care homes, specialized family care homes and
intermediate care facilities for the mentally retarded.
(g) "Misappropriation of property" means any act which is a
crime against property under article three, chapter sixty-one of
this code with respect to a child in a residential care facility or
an incapacitated adult or an adult receiving behavioral health
services in a residential care facility or a child or an
incapacitated adult or an adult receiving behavioral health
services who is a recipient of home care services.
(h) "Home care" or "home care services" means services
provided to children or incapacitated adults or adults receiving
behavioral health services in the home through a hospice provider,
a community care provider, a home health agency, through the
medicaid waiver program, or through any person when that service is reimbursable under the state medicaid program.
(i) "Requester" means the West Virginia department of
education, any residential care facility, any state licensed day
care center, qualified entity under the federal National Child
Protection Act of 1993; P.L. 103-209 as amended by the Volunteers
for Children Act; P.L. 105-251or any provider of home care services
or an adult receiving behavioral health services providing to the
central abuse registry the name of an individual and other
information necessary to identify that individual, and either: (1)
Certifying that the individual is being considered for employment
or service as a volunteer by the requester or for a contractual
relationship with the requester wherein the individual will provide
services to a child or an incapacitated adult or an adult receiving
behavioral health services for compensation; or contractors and
vendors who have or may have unsupervised access to the child,
disabled or elderly person
for whom the qualified entity provides
care or (2) certifying that an allegation of abuse, neglect or
misappropriation of property has been made against the individual.
(j) "Qualified entity" means any business, agency or
organization that provides care, treatment, education, training,
instruction , supervision or recreation for children, the elderly
or individuals with disabilities and is a public, private or not-
for profit entity within the state of West Virginia and meets the
definition of qualified entity under the federal National Child
Protection Act of 1993; P.L. 103-209 as amended by the Volunteers for Children Act; P.L. 105-251.
§15-2C-6. Fees.
The criminal identification bureau may charge, and any
requester shall pay a user charge of ten dollars for each request
for information made by a requester to the central abuse registry.
In order to expedite requests by requesters, the criminal
identification bureau may establish a procedure permitting service
providers or qualified entities under the under the federal
National Child Protection Act of 1993; P.L. 103-209 as amended by
the Volunteers for Children Act; P.L. 105-251 to deposit funds with
the bureau in anticipation of requests. Fees pursuant to this
section shall be paid into a special account in the State Treasury
to be expended for registry purposes and criminal record keeping:
Provided, That for and after the fiscal year ending the thirtieth
day of June, one thousand nine hundred ninety-eight, all
expenditures shall be made in accordance with appropriation by the
Legislature. Amounts collected which are found from time to time to
exceed the funds needed for central abuse registry and criminal
record keeping purposes may be transferred to other accounts or
funds and redesignated for other purposes by appropriation of the
Legislature. For purposes of this section, the term "criminal
record keeping" means the compiling of fingerprints, photographs,
criminal disposition reports, uniform crime report statistics and
other relevant data regarding the arrest, conviction, incarceration
and post-conviction status of criminal violators and sex offenders. "Criminal record keeping" does not include the creation of any
data.
§15-2C-9 Responsibilities of a Qualified Entity.
(a) Any business, agency or organization that provides care,
treatment, education, training, instruction , supervision or
recreation for children, the elderly or individuals with
disabilities and is a public, private or not-for profit entity
within the state of West Virginia and meets the definition of
qualified entity under the federal National Child Protection Act of
1993; P.L. 103-209 as amended by the Volunteers for Children Act;
P.L. 105-251 may utilize the Central Abuse Registry for part of
their screening process for their current and/or prospective
employees and employees. Prospective employees and volunteers, for
the purposes of this section, are understood to include contractors
and vendors who have or may have unsupervised access to the child,
disabled or elderly person for whom the qualified entity provides
care.
(b) In order to verify eligibility as a qualified entity, the
business, agency or organization submit application to the West
Virginia State Police on a form prescribed by the Superintendent.
(c) Once verified as a qualified entity by the West Virginia
State Police, the entity shall keep all records necessary to
facilitate a security audit by the West Virginia State Police and
shall cooperate in such audits as the West Virginia State Police or
other authorities may deem necessary. Such records include, but are not limited to, criminal history records; notification that an
individual has no criminal history; internal policies and
procedures articulating the provisions for physical security;
record of all disseminations of criminal history information and a
current, executed Qualified Entity User Agreement with the West
Virginia State Police.
NOTE: This bill is intended to provide qualified entities
access to the FBI database through the West Virginia State Police
Criminal Records system in addition the information contained in
the West Virginia Central Abuse Registry (which includes the West
Virginia Sex Offender Registry) and at the reduced rate.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.