H. B. 2329
(By Delegates Douglas, Moore, Ashley and Rowe)
(Introduced February 2, 1995; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.)
A BILL to amend and reenact section two, article three, chapter
forty-eight-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the
placement of children's advocates throughout the state.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section two, article three, chapter forty-eight-a of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
§48A-3-2. Placement of children's advocates throughout the
state; supervision; office procedures.
(a) The child advocate office shall employ twenty-one
employees in the position of children's advocate,. and
(b) Prior to the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-five, the offices of the children's advocates
shall be distributed geographically so as to provide an office
for each of the following areas of the state:
(1) The counties of Brooke, Hancock and Ohio;
(2) The counties of Marshall, Tyler and Wetzel;
(3) The counties of Pleasants, Ritchie, Wirt and Wood;
(4) The counties of Calhoun, Jackson and Roane;
(5) The counties of Mason and Putnam;
(6) The county of Cabell;
(7) The counties of McDowell and Wyoming;
(8) The counties of Logan and Mingo;
(9) The county of Kanawha;
(10) The county of Raleigh;
(11) The counties of Mercer, Monroe and Summers;
(12) The counties of Fayette and Nicholas;
(13) The counties of Greenbrier and Pocahontas;
(14) The counties of Braxton, Clay, Gilmer and Webster;
(15) The counties of Doddridge, Harrison, Lewis and Upshur;
(16) The counties of Marion and Taylor;
(17) The counties of Monongalia and Preston;
(18) The counties of Barbour, Randolph and Tucker;
(19) The counties of Grant, Hampshire, Hardy, Mineral and Pendleton;
(20) The counties of Berkeley, Jefferson and Morgan; and
(21) The counties of Boone, Lincoln and Wayne.
(c) On and after the first day of July, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-five, the director of the child advocate office
shall apportion the state into geographical regions so as to
provide offices for children's advocates throughout the state.
County boundaries shall be strictly observed and no county shall
be divided among two or more regions. Otherwise, in making such
apportionment, the director of the child advocate office shall
construct regions which provide, as nearly as is practicable, for
the case load of each children's advocate to be equal to that of
other children's advocates. Mathematical exactness as to case
load is not required and deviations from an absolute standard may
be based upon concerns, other than case load, including, but not
limited to, deviations dictated by the following considerations:
(1) Judicial circuits;
(2) Geographical features which affect the time and expense
of travel;
(3) Traditional patterns of practice by members of the bar;
and
(4) Population variances between regions.
(b) (d) Each children's advocate shall be appointed by the
director of the child advocate office. The children's advocates
shall be duly qualified attorneys licensed to practice in the
courts of this state. Children's advocates shall be exempted
from the appointments in the indigent cases which would otherwise
be required pursuant to article twenty-one, chapter twenty-nine
of this code.
(c) (e) Nothing contained herein shall prohibit the director
from temporarily assigning, from time to time as caseload may
dictate, a children's advocate from one geographical area to
another geographical area.
(d) (f) The children's advocate is an employee of the child
advocate office.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize the director
of the child advocate office, after July 1, 1995, to determine
the proper apportionment of children's advocates throughout the
state. Under current law, the distribution of children's
advocates is established by statute.
Strike-throughs indicate language which would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.