H. B. 4724
(By Delegates Fleischauer, Hrutkay, Long,
Mezzatesta, Staton, Calvert and Overington)
[Introduced
February 27, 2004
; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §49-5D-2 and §49-5D-3 of the code of
West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to
multidisciplinary teams for certain children involved in the
court system; and adding statutory team members to
investigative and treatment planning teams.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §49-5D-2 and §49-5D-3 of the code of West Virginia, 1931,
as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5D. MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAMS.
§49-5D-2. Multidisciplinary investigative teams; establishment;
procedures; coordination between agencies.
(a) The prosecuting attorney shall establish a
multidisciplinary investigative team in each county. The
multidisciplinary team shall be headed and directed by the
prosecuting attorney and shall include as permanent members the
prosecuting attorney or his or her designee, a local child
protective services caseworker from the department of health and
human resources, and a local law-enforcement officer employed by a law-enforcement agency in the county and a child advocacy center
representative, if such a program operates within the county. The
department of health and human resources and any local
law-enforcement agency or agencies selected by the prosecuting
attorney shall appoint their representatives to the team by
submitting a written designation of the team to the prosecuting
attorney of each county within thirty days of the prosecutor's
request that the appointment be made. Within fifteen days of the
appointment, the prosecuting attorney shall notify the chief judge
of each circuit within which the county is situated of the names of
the representatives so appointed. Any other person or any other
appointee of an agency who may contribute to the team's efforts to
assist a minor child as may be determined by the permanent members
of the team may also be appointed as a member of the team by the
prosecutor with notification to the chief judge.
(b) Any permanent member of the multidisciplinary
investigative team shall refer all cases of accidental death of any
child reported to their agency and all cases when a child dies
while in the custody of the state for investigation and review by
the team. The multidisciplinary investigative team shall meet at
regular intervals at least once every calendar month.
(c) The investigative team shall be responsible for
coordinating or cooperating in the initial and ongoing
investigation of all civil and criminal allegations pertinent to
cases involving child sexual assault, child sexual abuse, child
abuse and neglect, and shall make a recommendation to the county prosecuting attorney as to the initiation or commencement of a
civil petition and/or criminal prosecution.
(d) State, county and local agencies shall provide the
multidisciplinary investigative team with any information requested
in writing by the team as allowable by law or upon receipt of a
certified copy of the circuit court's order directing said agencies
to release information in its possession relating to the child.
The team shall assure that all information received and developed
in connection with the provisions of this article remains
confidential. For purposes of this section, the term
"confidential" shall be construed in accordance with the provisions
of section one, article seven of this chapter.
§49-5D-3. Multidisciplinary treatment planning process.
(a) (1) On or before the first day of January, one thousand
nine hundred ninety-five, a multidisciplinary treatment planning
process shall be established within each county of the state,
either separately or in conjunction with a contiguous county by the
secretary of the department with advice and assistance from the
prosecutor's advisory council as set forth in section four, article
four, chapter seven of this code.
(2) Treatment teams shall assess, plan and implement a
comprehensive, individualized service plan for children who are
victims of abuse or neglect and their families when a judicial
proceeding has been initiated involving the child or children for
juveniles and their families involved in status offense or
delinquency proceedings when, in a status offense proceeding, the court refers the juvenile for services pursuant to sections eleven
and eleven-a, article five of this chapter and when, in a
delinquency proceeding, the court is considering placing the
juvenile in the department's custody or placing the juvenile
out-of-home at the department's expense pursuant to the provisions
of section thirteen of said article. In any such status offense or
delinquency case, the juvenile probation officer shall notify the
local office of the department of health and human resources and
the division of juvenile services at least five working days before
the court proceeding in order to allow the multidisciplinary
treatment team to convene and develop a comprehensive
individualized service plan for the child: Provided, That such
notice is not required in cases where the child is already in state
custody or there exist exigent circumstances which justify taking
the child immediately into custody without a judicial proceeding.
(3) Prior to disposition, in each case in which a treatment
planning team has been convened, the team shall advise the court as
to the types of services the team has determined are needed and the
type of placement, if any, which will best serve the needs of the
child.
(b) Each treatment team shall be convened and directed by the
child's or family's case manager. The treatment team shall consist
of the child's custodial parent or parents, guardian or guardians,
other immediate family members, the attorney or attorneys
representing the child, the parent or parents of the child, the
guardian ad litem, if any, the prosecuting attorney or his or her designee, a court-appointed special advocate ("CASA"), when such a
volunteer program operates within the county, an appropriate school
official and any other person or an agency representative who may
assist in providing recommendations for the particular needs of the
child and family. The child may participate in multidisciplinary
treatment team meetings if such is deemed appropriate by the
multidisciplinary treatment team. For purposes of delinquency
proceedings, the juvenile probation officer shall be a member of
the treatment team.
(c) The treatment team shall coordinate its activities and
membership with local family resource networks and coordinate with
other local and regional child and family service planning
committees to assure the efficient planning and delivery of child
and family services on a local and regional level.
(d) State, county and local agencies shall provide the
multidisciplinary treatment teams with any information requested in
writing by the team as allowable by law or upon receipt of a
certified copy of the circuit court's order directing said agencies
to release information in its possession relating to the child.
The team shall assure that all information received and developed
in connection with the provisions of this article remain
confidential. For purposes of this section, the term
"confidential" shall be construed in accordance with the provisions
of section one, article seven of this chapter.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to add to the statutory members of multidisciplinary investigative teams and treatment
teams for certain children involved in the court system.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
This bill is recommended for passage in the 2004 regular
session by the Legislative Task Force on Juvenile Foster Care,
Detention and Placement.
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