H. B. 4164
(By Delegates Hatfield, Perdue, Brown, Guthrie,
Campbell, Wells, Wooton, Marshall, Mahan and Givens)
[Introduced January 22, 2010; referred to the
Committee on Health And Human Resources then Finance.]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §49-7-35, relating to
the creation of a pilot program for the placement of children
four to ten years of age in foster care.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §49-7-35, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 7. GENERAL PROVISIONS.
§49-7-35. Pilot program for the placement of children four to ten
years of age in foster care; requirements.
(a) This section shall be known as "Jacob's Law."
(b) The Legislature finds that:
(1) The needs of young children are not always adequately
addressed when the Department of Health and Human Resources is
required to take custody of them;
(2) Often the behavior of young children taken from their
homes pose special challenges for the department and other
individuals who are charged with their care;
(3) The department must take extraordinary precautions to
prevent serious emotional damage to these children; and
(4) The Department of Health and Human Resources has resources
within the department that can be redirected to meet the needs of
the program required by this section.
(c) The Department of Health and Human Resources shall choose
four regions in which to implement a pilot program to address
children ages four through ten immediately after removal from their
homes by the department and who may be in crisis.
(d) The program shall:
(1) Include early intervention for children in crisis;
(2) Provide for the development of a short-term and an ongoing
long-term plan for each child;
(3) Provide that each child is evaluated for emotional and
physical trauma and other medical, educational, dental and other
needs, in a timely manner;
(4) Require that each child be assigned an independent
advocate; and
(5) Be exempt from review under the Behavioral Health Medicaid
Administrative Services contract and be reviewed by the Bureau of
Children and Families for approval for reimbursement.
(e) The plans required by subsection (d) of this section shall:
(1) Address abandonment, separation anxiety, post traumatic
stress and other emotional and physical needs of the child;
(2) Be developed by appropriately trained professional staff;
(3) Require the participation of a child care agency, the
Department of Education, community programs and other appropriate
agencies providing services to children ages four through ten;
and
(4) Be developed to meet the ongoing emotional needs of each
child.
(f) The short-term plan required by subsection (d) of this
section shall address the child's needs for the first thirty days
under the department's supervision.
(g) During the initial evaluation period, and when the child
is being placed into foster care, the department shall develop a
specialized foster care program for each child. The program shall
be developed to include crisis intervention staffed with trained
and educated professional individuals who know how to manage a
child's reaction to trauma and the crisis of being removed from the
custody of a parent, parents or other guardians, with emphasis on
the child's emotional needs instead of reactive behavior. This
program shall limit the number of children in one location to two
or three foster children at a time. A greater number is permitted
if all of the children are siblings.
(h) After a short-term and long-term plan is developed, the department shall:
(1) Provide the foster family with training and education in
the plan;
(2) Evaluate the child and foster parent or parents on the
interaction between the child and parents;
(3) Train the foster parent on how to respond to the child's
emotional crisis and how to understand the child's crisis reactive
behavior; and
(4) Evaluate the foster family on its understanding of the
need for this early intervention and the need for appropriate
crisis management.
(i) The department shall:
(1) Create and train a team to provide crisis intervention;
(2) Provide a call system for the foster parents and the child
so that the foster parents or the child can speak to a team member
or other appropriately trained professional during a crisis; and
(3) Require a crisis team member to visit the home if unable
to adequately resolve the crisis over the telephone and to do a
follow up visit within two days to meet with the parents and child,
individually, to determine the crisis was satisfactorily resolved.
(j) The department shall develop a system to evaluate the
pilot program for outcomes and standards of care and report back to
public, private and community partners. In addition the evaluation
shall be reported to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance
or other designated committees every six months for two years. The evaluation shall be contracted by the department through an
external entity who shall:
(1) Establish measurable outcomes for purposes of evaluation;
(2) Collect, analyze and report data quarterly and annually;
(3) Identify trends and make recommendations for program
improvement;
(4) Conduct an analysis of the impact of the pilot program on
the child's emotional stability including the number of placements
that the child experiences and the basis for required moves;
(5) Provide technical assistance and training to the pilot
program;
(6) Provide leadership in the development of data collection
and outcome reporting models;
(7) Provide feedback for quality improvement to those
responsible for the pilot program; and
(8) Monitor, research and present best practices through
everyday communication and training opportunities.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create a pilot program
for children ages four through ten who are entering the foster care
system and need specialized services and an evaluation upon entry.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
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