H. B. 4259
(By Delegates Ennis, Hatfield, Iaquinta, Perdue, Talbott,
Yost and Leggett)
[Introduced February 2, 2004; referred to the
Committee on Government Organization then Finance.]
A BILL to repeal §5-26-7 and §5-26-9 of the code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended; and to amend and reenact §5-26-1, §5-26-2,
§5-26-3, §5-26-4 and §5-26-8 of said code; and to amend said
code by adding thereto two new sections, designated §5-26-2a
and §5-26-2b, all relating generally to the governor's cabinet
on children and families; clarifying statement of purpose;
revising membership of cabinet; establishing citizen advisory
council; defining family resource networks; revising duties
and powers of cabinet; requiring state plan; requiring annual
reports; and providing for continuation of cabinet and
council.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §5-26-7 and §5-26-9 of the code of West Virginia, 1931,
as amended, be repealed; that §5-26-1, §5-26-2, §5-26-3, §5-26-4,
and §5-26-8 of said code be amended and reenacted; and that said code be amended by adding thereto two new sections, designated §5-
26-2a and §5-26-2b, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 26. GOVERNOR'S CABINET ON CHILDREN AND FAMILIES.
§5-26-1. Legislative findings; statement of purpose.
(a) The Legislature finds that the early years of life are a
critical developmental and educational stage in the total life
cycle and declares that parents are the children's first teachers
and have the primary responsibility for meeting the needs and
addressing the development of their children. Therefore, social
programs and services for children and families shall be built upon
respect for the integrity of the family and the belief in the
strength and the ability of families to thrive and the ability of
parents to nurture and provide for their children. However,
families can experience severe crises which result in
life-threatening situations to children or other family members or
can have long-term negative impact on the child. The Legislature
further finds that two of the crises which affect the ability of
children to thrive and develop are teenage pregnancies and
substance abuse. Successful intervention by a combined effort of
government, the people of West Virginia and the Legislature can
successfully reduce the number of pregnancies to unmarried,
adolescent females and the instances of drug and alcohol abuse by
children by the year 2000.
The state has an obligation to provide crisis intervention and stabilization, with the goal of providing for children's well-being
in a permanent situation in the home environment or in the least
restrictive setting as close to a home environment as possible. in
order to avoid the human and financial costs to the state of
individual and family instability, and to benefit the state and
society as a whole, it is in the best interests of the state to
provide programs and services to support children and families.
The Legislature further finds that children and families are best
supported by programs and services in or as close to the local
community as possible.
The Legislature intends to accomplish its goals relating to
children and families through a family-centered, comprehensive,
community-based system for the provision of social services,
programs and facilities for children and families overseen by the
highest levels of state government. although this may require
fundamental changes in the way state government responds to the
needs of children and their families.
(b) The Legislature hereby declares that one purpose of this
article and the policy of the state is to achieve the coordination
of programs and services to children and families through a cabinet
in the governor's office which is independent from any state agency
and which shall act as an interagency cabinet created to nurture a
flexible system for the comprehensive, unified, effective and
efficient administration of programs and services to children and families which avoids fragmentation and duplication of programs and
services. and which facilitates and promotes cooperation among
state agencies, as well as regional, local and private service
agencies. It is the intent of the Legislature, through the
governor's cabinet, to emphasize preventive services to children
and families in order to avoid the human and financial costs to the
state of individual and family instability and to benefit the state
and society as a whole. For maximum effectiveness, the Legislature
intends to provide such services in a long-term manner with such
intensity as the needs of the particular situation require.
(c) The Legislature intends that participation in the programs
authorized or required in this article shall be voluntary on the
part of any child or family for whom the program is available, and
not otherwise required under state or federal laws or regulations,
and all outreach shall emphasize the positive, voluntary nature of
the programs. The service delivery system shall be driven by the
needs and preferences of the child and family, shall reflect local
community characteristics and resources, shall allow for local
input, and shall focus on prevention, education and early
intervention. The service providers shall convey an attitude of
support, compassion, understanding, friendliness and patience.
The Legislature intends, by this article, to allow diversity
and regional, cultural and ethnic sensitivity in the development of
programs and services for children and families. To the greatest extent possible, families and communities are to be involved in all
aspects of planning, and delivery and evaluation of services. to
that family, and the community shall be involved in the service
delivery system in that community. This is intended to foster
strong family and community program ownership while maintaining
clear parameters for program goals and purposes through the
governor's cabinet on children and families.
§5-26-2. Cabinet established.
(a) There is hereby created the governor's cabinet on children
and families, hereinafter referred to as the "cabinet". In
addition to such other administrative heads of government as the
governor may appoint to the cabinet, The cabinet shall include the
secretary of health and human resources or a designee; the
secretary of commerce, labor and environmental resources military
affairs and public safety or a designee; the secretary of
administration or a designee; the state superintendent of schools
or a designee; and the attorney general or a designee; one member
of the senate, to be appointed by the governor, and one member of
the house of delegates, to be appointed by the governor, both of
whom shall serve in an advisory capacity only; and three members
selected by the governor from the citizens' advisory council as set
forth in section two-a of this article. The governor may appoint
other administrative heads of government who shall serve in an
advisory capacity only.
(b) In order to promote consistency and continuity in the
work of the cabinet
, each cabinet member appointed by virtue of his
or her governmental office is encouraged to select a primary
designee and an alternate designee to serve in his or her place
when necessary.
(c) The cabinet shall be chaired by the governor and shall
convene at least monthly during the first year and thereafter shall
meet at least quarterly six times annually. The cabinet shall
establish bylaws which govern its decision making.
(d) The governor shall appoint an executive director to carry
out its work and to oversee staff adequate to fulfill its
functions.
§5-26-2a. Citizen's advisory council.
(a) The governor shall appoint a citizens' advisory council to
assist the cabinet with the implementation of its mission and
policy objectives.
(b) The council shall be comprised of not fewer than twelve
nor more than thirty citizens who will serve terms of one, two or
three years as assigned at the time of appointment. The council
members will have knowledge and experience in serving children and
families in such areas as housing: Health promotion and disease
prevention; education; transportation; reading and literacy; food
and nutrition; clothing; utilities; job training and employment;
child care; child protection; early intervention and crisis intervention; assessment and diagnosis; home-based family
development; preservation and reunification; financial planning;
mental health and counseling; substance abuse prevention counseling
and treatment; addiction awareness training; pregnancy prevention;
and information, referral and placement.
(c) The purpose of the council is to:
(1) Provide a forum for discussion of issues that affect the
state's children and families;
(2) Identify and promote best practices in the provision of
services to children and families;
(3) Review information and research that can inform state
policy;
(4) Make recommendations to the cabinet in areas of policy and
allocation of resources;
(5) Focus attention on accountability and results;
(6) Assist the cabinet in developing a cross-agency multi-year
state plan for improving the well being of children and families;
(7) Connect government officials who make decisions with the
families affected by their decisions;
(8) Engage local communities through family resource networks
to work on local issues and statewide priorities;
(9) Assure that community and family voices are heard by the
cabinet; and
(10) Promote family support practices by all publicly funded agencies.
(d) The governor shall select three members of the council to
serve on the cabinet, two of whom are family representatives from
families who have received or are receiving services funded, in
whole or in part, by federal, state or local governments, and one
of whom is a community representative who is not employed in a
managerial or decision-making position of a provider of services
funded in whole or in part by federal, state or local governments.
(e) The community representative initially appointed shall
serve for a term of one year and the family representatives
initially appointed shall serve for terms of two years and three
years respectively. If a member's term on the cabinet exceeds his
or her term on the council, his or her term on the council will be
extended automatically to coincide with his or her term on the
cabinet. Members appointed subsequent to the initial appointments
shall serve for terms of three years, and may serve up to three
consecutive full terms: Provided, That members appointed under this
section shall continue to serve until their successors are
appointed. An appointment to fill a vacancy will be for the
unexpired term.
(f) Citizen members may be reimbursed for actual and necessary
expenses incurred in the discharge of their official duties in a
manner consistent with guidelines of the travel management office
of the department of administration.
(g) The governor may remove any citizen member from the
council or the cabinet for neglect of duty, incompetency or
official misconduct.
§5-26-2b. Family resource networks.
(a) "Family resource network" means a local community
organization charged with service coordination, needs and resource
assessment, planning, community mobilization and evaluation, and
which has been recognized by the cabinet as having met the
following criteria:
(1) Agreeing to a single governing entity;
(2) Agreeing to engage in activities to improve
service
systems for children and families within the community;
(3) Addressing a geographic area of a county or two or more
contiguous counties;
(4) Having nonproviders, which include family representatives
and other members who are not employees of publicly funded
agencies
, as the majority of the members of the governing body, and
having family representatives as the majority of the nonproviders;
(5) Having representatives of local service agencies,
including, but not limited to, the public health department, the
behavioral health center, the local health and human resources
agency and the county school district, on the governing body;
(6) Accepting principles consistent with the cabinet's mission
as part of its philosophy.
(b) A family resource network may not provide direct services,
which means to provide programs or services directly to children
and families.
§5-26-3. Duties of cabinet generally.
In addition to all other duties and responsibilities assigned
to the cabinet in this article and elsewhere by law, the cabinet
shall: have the power and the duty to:
(1) Analyze ways to best utilize the information and
evaluations obtained through previously existing or ongoing
programs for children and families such as "Home-Oriented Preschool
Education" (HOPE), which focuses on televised educational outreach
to rural children; "Parent and Child Education" (PACE), which
focuses on literacy; and "Parents as Teachers" (PAT), which focuses
on parents working with the children and determine ways to
implement or incorporate aspects of the programs that would be of
benefit to families and children in this state;
(2) Designate an individual who shall monitor and report on
head-start, early intervention and other preschool programs
throughout the state;
(3) Provide for the holistic coordination of programs and
services for all children and families in such areas as housing;
health promotion and disease prevention; education, transportation,
reading and literacy; food and nutrition; other necessities such as
clothing and utilities; job training and employment; child care; child protection; early intervention and crisis intervention;
assessment and diagnosis; home-based family development,
preservation and reunification; financial planning; mental health
and counseling; substance abuse prevention counseling and
treatment; in order to increase the available drug and alcohol
counseling, education and addiction awareness training; pregnancy
prevention for adolescents with the goal being to reduce the number
of adolescent pregnancies by fifty percent by the year 2000;
information, referral and placement and any other such services;
(4) Promote the delivery of early prenatal care services for
all pregnant women through local health care providers;
(5) Assure the development of parenting education services and
outreach efforts, child developmental stages, including the
utilization of media and supportive activities for children and
care givers with a focus on children three to five years old living
in rural areas;
(6) Provide for the coordination of programs and services for
comprehensive developmental screening and well-baby visits for all
preschool children and parental involvement in all areas of a
child's education and development;
(7) Identify facilities and properties throughout the state
that may be required or available for the effective and efficient
provision of programs and services to children and families, with
an emphasis on utilizing available state facilities, including public school facilities and facilities within the state system of
higher education;
(1) Establish, fund, oversee, evaluate and provide technical
assistance to family resource networks, starting points centers,
early parent education programs and other community based
initiatives;
(2) Develop a cross-agency multi-year state plan consistent
with priorities established by local plans developed by family
resource networks, which includes provisions for regular updates of
the plan and which requires the cabinet to:
(A) Articulate core results desired by the state for its
children and families;
(B) Choose indicators to measure progress in reaching core
results;
(C) Establish baseline data for measuring progress by
examining current conditions and trends;
(D) Set targets and explore strategies for improving the lives
of children and families;
(E) Put selected strategies into action to achieve core
results;
(F) Monitor progress and make course corrections as necessary;
and
(G) Identify tools to achieve articulated goals, including:
(i) Shifting focus from process to core results;
(ii) Increasing flexibility to remove barriers, encourage
innovation and provide incentives for achieving results;
(iii) Providing flexible financing to reinvest savings and
decategorize, pool, redeploy or reinstate funding;
(iv) Employing results-based budgeting; and
(v) Improving accountability through results-based decision
making.
(8) (3) Prepare a proposed budget for the operation of the
cabinet to be recommended and recommend it to the governor for
inclusion in the executive budget to be submitted to the
Legislature;
(9) Create an independent case management system for all
children in the custody of the state, for families requiring
services from multiple agencies, and for any other category of
children or families as the cabinet may deem appropriate;
(10) Develop coordinated information systems and examples of
forms, including eligibility forms, for use at the local, regional
and state levels designed (i) to provide people with complete,
easy-to-read information on programs and services available to
children and families and (ii) to provide service providers with
sufficient information while minimizing the amount of paperwork
required of people seeking services or for program participation;
(11) (4) Promote the work of the governor's cabinet on
children and families in order to engender strong support from the community, the Legislature and business leaders;
(12) Provide public information on services and programs
available to children and families which shall include a staffed,
statewide toll-free phone number whereby children and families can
receive information on available services and programs and which
may include television programs, public service announcements, and
any other effective means of providing information on,
communicating or promoting any service or program;
(13) Address specifically the provision of programs and
services to children and families living in the rural areas of the
state; and
(14) Report annually to the Legislature and to such other
units as the cabinet may deem appropriate on issues relating to
children and families.
(5) Report on its progress in implementing the comprehensive
multi-year state plan required under subdivision (3) of this
section, at least annually during the interim period to the joint
standing committee on government organization; and
(6) Submit to the Legislature, on or before the first day of
each January,
a report of its financial transactions for the
preceding year, minutes of its meetings, and narrative descriptions
of any training sessions, conferences or other events, together
with a progress report on its implementation of the comprehensive
multi-year plan required under subdivision (3) of this section, and shall file a copy of the report with the legislative librarian.
§5-26-4. Powers of cabinet generally.
In addition to all other powers granted to the cabinet in this
article and elsewhere by law, the cabinet shall have the power and
authority to: may:
(1) Negotiate written agreements and procedures between and
among departments of state government which assure that children
and families are provided with health care, social services,
appropriate education and vocational training, and any other
services to which they may be entitled under state and federal law;
(2) Provide or contract with any agencies or persons in this
state and other states for any facilities, equipment or service
necessary to achieve the purposes of this article, and hire such
staff support sufficient to carry out the duties and
responsibilities of the cabinet;
(3) In addition to the citizens' advisory council established
pursuant to section two-a of this article, form subcommittees,
convene task teams or consult experts to advise the cabinet
generally or on selected topics as necessary to accomplish its
goals or to otherwise carry out its duties under this article;
(3) (4) Develop and implement rules, regulations, standards
and policies governing the internal operation and administration of
the cabinet;
(4) (5) Delegate any of the cabinet's powers, duties or functions as the cabinet may deem appropriate, expedient and
effective;
(5) (6) Solicit and accept proposals in furtherance of any
program or service required by this article, especially for the
establishment of family resource networks at the regional or local
level and for the implementation of pilot programs;
(6) Develop programmatic standards for early childhood
programs, including recommendations regarding development
activities required to be provided by licensed day care and child
care facilities and programs;
(7) Review any rules and regulations, including licensure
requirements, to the extent that they impact on or create barriers
to the provision of programs and services to children and families;
(8) Develop and require the implementation of
interdisciplinary and interagency standards for all children in the
custody of the state, with the goal of providing for children's
well-being in the home environment or the least restrictive
setting;
(9) (7) Waive rules and regulations that impede coordinated
service delivery;
(10) (8) Solicit, accept and expend grants, gifts, bequests,
donations and other funds made available to the cabinet: Provided,
That all unrestricted grants, gifts, bequests and donations shall
be deposited in the children's fund created pursuant to section six of this article; and,
(11) Establish family resource networks and services in local
communities by building on existing resources to coordinate
services to families and children;
(12) Authorize family resource networks or otherwise develop
service areas which will allow for the efficient delivery of
programs and services on a local or regional basis so that programs
and services are provided in or as close to the local community
level as possible in accordance with guidelines to be established
by the cabinet; and
(13) (9) Exercise any and all other powers, including the
adoption of an official seal and to charter the chartering of
public or quasi-public corporations, necessary for the discharge of
the cabinet's duties and the implementation of the purposes of this
article.
§5-26-8. Continuation of cabinet and council.
Pursuant to the provisions of article ten, chapter four of
this code, the governor's cabinet on children and families shall
continue to exist until the first day of July, two thousand five:
Provided, That the cabinet shall prepare an annual progress report
and shall present the report to the joint committee on government
operations. The report shall detail the cabinet's compliance with
its purposes, duties and responsibilities as set forth in sections
one, three and four of this article, together with proposed plans for future compliance and proposed programs for the following year.
The cabinet and the council shall continue to exist, pursuant
to the provisions of article ten, chapter four of this code, until
the first day of July, two thousand seven, unless sooner
terminated, continued or reestablished
pursuant to the provisions
of that article.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to revise the composition,
powers and duties of the Governor's Cabinet on Children and
Families.
Strike-throughs indicate language to be stricken and
underlines indicate language to be added.
§5-26-2a and §5-26-2b are new; therefore strike-throughs and
underlines have been omitted.
THIS BILL IS RECOMMENDED FOR PASSAGE BY THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON
GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION DURING THE 2004 REGULAR SESSION.