Senate Bill No. 136
(By Senators Boley, Sprouse, Minear, Deem and Unger)
____________
[Introduced January 19, 2000; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
____________
A BILL to amend article six-a, chapter forty-nine of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
eleven, relating to the video and audio taping of any
interview of a child suspected of being neglected or abused.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article six-a, chapter forty-nine of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section
eleven, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 6A. REPORTS OF CHILDREN SUSPECTED TO BE ABUSED OR
NEGLECTED.
§49-6A-11. Video and audio taping of interviews of a child or
children suspected of being abused or neglected.
Any interview, including but not limited to an
interview by the court, of a child or children suspected of being
abused or neglected, shall be video and audio taped. These tapes
shall be made available to parents, guardians or custodians of the
child or children.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to ensure any
interview with a child or children suspected of being neglected
or abused is video and audio taped so that subsequent reviewers
of such a case can also determine the merits of the case.
Since this is a new section, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.