H. B. 2349
(By Delegates M. Smith, Fleischauer, D. Campbell,
Caputo, Poore and L. Phillips)
[Introduced February 13, 2013; referred to the
Committee on Health and Human Resources then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §49-6-1a of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to increasing the number of child
protective service workers at the Department of Health and
Human Resources.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §49-6-1a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 6. PROCEDURE IN CASES OF CHILD NEGLECT OR ABUSE.
§49-6-1a. Minimum staffing complement for child protective
services.
On or before June 30, 2014, the Secretary of the Department of
Health and Human Resources shall increase For the sole purpose of
increasing the number of full-time front line child protective
service case workers and investigators by twenty percent in each
regional office. The Secretary of the Department of Health and
Human Resources shall have the authority to transfer funds between all general revenue accounts under the secretary's authority and/or
between personnel and nonpersonnel lines within each account under
the secretary's authority. Provided, That nothing in this section
shall be construed to require the department to hire additional
child protective service workers at any time if the department
determines that funds are not available for such workers.
Additionally, the secretary shall prepare a plan to allow the
department to progressively reduce caseload standards in West
Virginia for child protective services workers, which if adopted by
the Legislature during the 1995 regular session, shall require
implementation no later than July 1, 1996, with said plan to be
submitted to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance by
September 30, 1994, and a final report to be submitted to the
Legislature by January 1, 1995. Additionally, the secretary shall
revise the department's plan for progressively reducing caseload
standards in West Virginia for child protective services workers in
order to further reduce caseloads. If this revised plan is adopted
by the Legislature during the 2014 regular session, the secretary
shall implement the plan no later than July 1, 2015. The secretary
shall submit the revised plan to the Joint Committee on Government
and Finance by September, 2013, and a final report shall be
submitted to the Legislature by January 1, 2014.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to increase the number of
child protective service workers and to reduce the caseloads of
child protective service workers.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.