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Committee Substitute House Bill 4500 History

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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
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.
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