COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 4500
(By Delegates Webster, Mahan, Long, Campbell,
Iaquinta, Staggers, Yost, Varner and Ennis)
(Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary)
[February 18, 2008]
A BILL to amend and reenact §15-2C-1 and §15-2C-6 of the Code of
West Virginia, 1931, as amended, and to amend said code by
adding a new section, designated §15-2C-9, all relating to
providing qualified entities access to the West Virginia
Central Abuse Registry; defining the responsibilities of
qualified entities; and establishing fees for requests by
qualified entities.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §15-2C-1 and §15-2C-6 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931,
as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that said code be amended
by adding a new section, designated §15-2C-9
,
to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2C. CENTRAL ABUSE REGISTRY.
§15-2C-1. Definitions.
The following words when used in this article have meanings
ascribed to them in this section, except in those instances where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
(a) "Central abuse registry" or "registry" means the registry
created by this article which shall contain the names of
individuals who have been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor
offense constituting abuse, neglect or misappropriation of the
property of a child or an incapacitated adult or an adult receiving
behavioral health services.
(b) "Child abuse and neglect" or "child abuse or neglect"
means those terms as defined in section three, article one, chapter
forty-nine of this code, and shall include any act with respect to
a child which is a crime against the person pursuant to article
two, chapter sixty-one of this code, any act which is unlawful
pursuant to article eight-d of said chapter sixty-one, and any
offense with respect to a child which is enumerated in section
three of this article.
(c) "Abuse or neglect of an incapacitated adult" means
"abuse," "neglect" and "incapacitated adult" as those terms are
defined in section one, article six, chapter nine, and shall
include any act with respect to an incapacitated adult which is a
crime against the person pursuant to article two, chapter sixty-one
of this code, and any offense with respect to an incapacitated
adult which is enumerated in section three of this article.
(d) "Adult receiving behavioral health services" means a
person over the age of eighteen years who is receiving any
behavioral health service from a licensed behavioral health provider or any behavioral health provider whose services are paid
for, in whole or in part, by medicaid or medicare.
(e) "Conviction" of a felony or a misdemeanor means an
adjudication of guilt by a court or jury following a hearing on the
merits, or entry of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere.
(f) "Residential care facility" means any facility where a
child or an incapacitated adult or an adult receiving behavioral
health services resides which is subject to registration, licensure
or certification by the department of health and human resources,
and shall include nursing homes, personal care homes, residential
board and care homes, adult family care homes, group homes, legally
unlicensed service providers, residential child care facilities,
family based foster care homes, specialized family care homes and
intermediate care facilities for the mentally retarded.
(g) "Misappropriation of property" means any act which is a
crime against property under article three, chapter sixty-one of
this code with respect to a child in a residential care facility or
an incapacitated adult or an adult receiving behavioral health
services in a residential care facility or a child or an
incapacitated adult or an adult receiving behavioral health
services who is a recipient of home care services.
(h) "Home care" or "home care services" means services
provided to children or incapacitated adults or adults receiving
behavioral health services in the home through a hospice provider,
a community care provider, a home health agency, through the medicaid waiver program, or through any person when that service is
reimbursable under the state medicaid program.
(i) "Requester" means the West Virginia department of
education, any residential care facility, any state licensed day
care center, any qualified entity as defined in this section or any
provider of home care services or an adult receiving behavioral
health services providing to the central abuse registry the name of
an individual and other information necessary to identify that
individual, and either: (1) Certifying that the individual is being
considered for employment or service as a volunteer by the
requester or for a contractual relationship with the requester
wherein the individual will provide services to a child or an
incapacitated adult or an adult receiving behavioral health
services for compensation; or contractors and vendors who have or
may have unsupervised access to the child, disabled or elderly
person
for whom the qualified entity provides care; or (2)
certifying that an allegation of abuse, neglect or misappropriation
of property has been made against the individual.
(j) "Qualified entity" means any business, agency or
organization that provides care, treatment, education, training,
instruction, supervision or recreation for children, the elderly or
individuals with disabilities and is a public, private or not-for-
profit entity within the state of West Virginia and meets the
definition of qualified entity under the federal National Child
Protection Act of 1993; P.L. 103-209 as amended by the Volunteers for Children Act; P.L. 105-251.
§15-2C-6. Fees.
The criminal identification bureau may charge, and any
requester shall pay a user charge of ten dollars for each request
for information made by a requester to the central abuse registry.
In order to expedite requests by requesters, the criminal
identification bureau may establish a procedure permitting service
providers or qualified entities as defined in section one of this
article to deposit funds with the bureau in anticipation of
requests. Fees pursuant to this section shall be paid into a
special account in the State Treasury to be expended for registry
purposes and criminal record keeping: Provided, That for and after
the fiscal year ending the thirtieth day of June, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-eight, all expenditures shall be made in accordance
with appropriation by the Legislature. Amounts collected which are
found from time to time to exceed the funds needed for central
abuse registry and criminal record keeping purposes may be
transferred to other accounts or funds and redesignated for other
purposes by appropriation of the Legislature. For purposes of this
section, the term "criminal record keeping" means the compiling of
fingerprints, photographs, criminal disposition reports, uniform
crime report statistics and other relevant data regarding the
arrest, conviction, incarceration and post-conviction status of
criminal violators and sex offenders. "Criminal record keeping"
does not include the creation of any data.
§15-2C-9 Responsibilities of a Qualified Entity.
(a) Any business, agency or organization that provides care,
treatment, education, training, instruction, supervision or
recreation for children, the elderly or individuals with
disabilities and is a public, private or not-for-profit entity
within the state of West Virginia and is a qualified entity as
defined in section one of this article may utilize the Central
Abuse Registry for part of its screening process for its current
and/or prospective employees and employees. Prospective employees
and volunteers, for the purposes of this section, include
contractors and vendors who have or may have unsupervised access to
the child, disabled or elderly person for whom the qualified entity
provides care.
(b) In order to verify eligibility as a qualified entity, the
business, agency or organization shall apply to the West Virginia
State Police on a form prescribed by the Superintendent.
(c) Once verified as a qualified entity by the West Virginia
State Police, the entity shall keep all records necessary to
facilitate a security audit by the West Virginia State Police and
shall cooperate in such audits as the West Virginia State Police or
other authorities may deem necessary. Such records include, but
are not limited to, criminal history records; notification that an
individual has no criminal history; internal policies and
procedures articulating the provisions for physical security;
records of all disseminations of criminal history information; and a current, executed qualified entity user agreement with the West
Virginia State Police.