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Enrolled Version - Final Version House Bill 4560 History

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ENROLLED

H. B. 4560


(By Delegates Givens, Douglas, Fleischauer,

Mezzatesta, Staton, Facemyer and Trump)


[Passed March 14, 1998; in effect July 1, 1998.]



AN ACT to amend and reenact section four, article one, chapter forty-nine of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to amend and reenact section one, article two of said chapter, relating to reinserting homes for unmarried mothers into the definition of "child welfare agency" and providing that the department of health and human resources is responsible for the infant child of an unmarried juvenile who is in the department's custody without requiring that parent to relinquish custody of the infant to the department.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section four, article one, chapter forty-nine of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that section one, article two of said chapter be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. PURPOSES; DEFINITIONS.

§49-1-4. Other definitions.
As used in this chapter:
(1) "Child welfare agency" means any agency or facility maintained by the state or any county or municipality thereof, or any agency or facility maintained by an individual, firm, corporation, association or organization, public or private, to receive children for care and maintenance or for placement in residential care facilities, or any facility that provides care for unmarried mothers and their children;
(2) "Community based," when referring to a facility, program, or service, means located near the juvenile's home or family and involving community participation in planning, operation, and evaluation, and which may include, but is not limited to, medical, educational, vocational, social and psychological guidance, training, special education, counseling, alcoholism and any treatment, and other rehabilitation services;
(3) "Court" means the circuit court of the county with jurisdiction of the case or the judge thereof in vacation unless otherwise specifically provided;
(4) "Custodian" means a person who has or shares actual physical possession or care and custody of a child, regardless of whether such person has been granted custody of the child by any contract, agreement or legal proceedings;
(5) "Department" or "state department" means the state department of health and human resources;
(6) "Division of juvenile services" means the division within the department of military affairs and public safety pursuant to article five-e of this chapter;
(7) "Guardian" means a person who has care and custody of a child as a result of any contract, agreement or legal proceeding;
(8) "Juvenile delinquent" means a juvenile who has been adjudicated as one who commits an act which would be a crime under state law or a municipal ordinance if committed by an adult;
(9) "Nonsecure facility" means any public or private residential facility not characterized by construction fixtures designed to physically restrict the movements and activities of individuals held in lawful custody in such facility and which provides its residents access to the surrounding community with supervision;
(10) "Referee" means a juvenile referee appointed pursuant to section one, article five-a of this chapter, except that in any county which does not have a juvenile referee the judge or judges of the circuit court may designate one or more magistrates of the county to perform the functions and duties which may be performed by a referee under this chapter;
(11) "Secretary" means the secretary of health and human resources;
(12) "Secure facility" means any public or private residential facility which includes construction fixtures designed to physically restrict the movements and activities of juveniles or other individuals held in lawful custody in such facility;
(13) "Staff-secure facility" means any public or private residential facility characterized by staff restrictions of the movements and activities of individuals held in lawful custody in such facility and which limits its residents' access to the surrounding community, but is not characterized by construction fixtures designed to physically restrict the movements and activities of residents;
(14) "Status offender" means a juvenile who has been adjudicated as one:
(A) Who habitually and continually refuses to respond to the lawful supervision by his or her parents, guardian or legal custodian such that the child's behavior substantially endangers the health, safety, or welfare of the juvenile or any other person;
(B) Who has left the care of his or her parents, guardian or custodian without the consent of such person or without good cause;
(C) Who is habitually absent from school without good cause; or
(D) Who violates any West Virginia municipal, county, or state law regarding use of alcoholic beverages by minors;
(15) "Valid court order" means a court order given to a juvenile who was brought before the court and made subject to such order, and who received, before the issuance of such order, the full due process rights guaranteed to such juvenile by the constitutions of the United States and the state of West Virginia.
ARTICLE 2. STATE RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE PROTECTION AND CARE OF CHILDREN.

§49-2-1. Care for children committed to the state department.

It shall be the responsibility of the state department to provide care for neglected children who are committed to its care for custody or guardianship. For purposes of this chapter, the department of health and human resources is responsible for the care of the infant child of an unmarried mother who has been committed to the custody of the department while the infant is placed in the same licensed child welfare agency as his or her mother. The state department may provide care for such children in family homes meeting required standards, at board or otherwise, through a licensed child welfare agency, or in a state institution providing care for dependent or neglected children. The department in placing any child in the care of a family or a child welfare agency shall select as far as practicable a family holding the same religious belief as the parents or relatives of the child or a child welfare agency conducted under religious auspices of the same belief as the parents or relatives.
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