SB 1001 Text

ENGROSSED
Senate Bill No. 1001
(By Senators Jones, Plymale, Burdette, Mr. President,
Craigo, Wagner, Chernenko, Minard, Anderson, Dalton, Lucht,
Whitlow, Wooton, Humphreys, Boley, Manchin, Grubb, Schoonover,
Dittmar, Bailey, Ross, Withers, Helmick, Blatnik, Walker,
Wehrle, Tomblin, Miller, Holliday, Yoder and Sharpe)
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[Introduced March 14, 1994;
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend article four, chapter seven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended by adding thereto two new sections, designated sections four and five; and to amend chapter forty-nine of said code by adding thereto a new article, designated article five-d, all relating to prosecuting advisory council; responsibilities of council; election of chairman; victim advocates; requiring cooperation from other state and local government units; participation in multidisciplinary planning process, multidisciplinary treatment teams; purposes of teams; additional cases and teams; establishment of investigative teams; procedures; coordination between agencies;

multidisciplinary treatment planning process; and report of teams.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article four, chapter seven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding thereto two new sections, designated sections four and five; and that chapter forty-nine of said code be amended by adding thereto a new article, designated article five- d, all to read as follows:

CHAPTER 7. COUNTY COMMISSIONS AND OFFICERS.

ARTICLE 4. PROSECUTING ATTORNEY, REWARDS AND LEGAL ADVICE.

§7-4-4. Prosecutor's advisory council; victim advocates; participation in multidisciplinary planning process.

There is hereby created the prosecutor's advisory council composed of elected prosecuting attorneys of each county of the state or a designated member of their staff. The prosecutor's advisory council shall conduct an initial meeting of all members not later than the first day of September, one thousand nine hundred ninety-four, and shall meet not less than one time each year. At the initial meeting and annually thereafter, the council shall elect from among its membership a chairman of the council who shall set the agenda for the council's meetings and shall appoint necessary committees and direct the work of the council in carrying out its duties under the provisions of this section.
The council shall provide advice, assistance, training andleadership to the offices of the various county prosecuting attorneys of this state in criminal and civil cases which involve child abuse or neglect or sexual assault or sexual abuse of children. The council shall also provide advice and assistance to the secretary of the department of health and human resources in the implementation of a multidisciplinary planning process as set forth in article five-d, chapter forty-nine of this code.
The council may seek funds and programs to provide each prosecuting attorney's office with a staff person to assist children who are crime victims to obtain services and assistance from other agencies and programs in the community. Prosecuting attorneys shall be reimbursed by their respective county commissions for necessary expenses actually incurred when attending meetings of the council.
The council may apply for and receive funds from any grant program of any agency or institution in the United States, public or private, to be used for carrying out the purposes of this section.
§7-4-5. Multidisciplinary investigative teams.
On or before the first day of January, one thousand nine hundred ninety-five, the prosecuting attorney of each county in the state shall establish a multidisciplinary investigative team, in accordance with the provisions of section three, article five-d, chapter forty-nine of this code.

CHAPTER 49. CHILD WELFARE.

ARTICLE 5D. MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAMS.

§49-5D-1. Purpose; additional cases and teams.

(a) The purpose of this article is to provide a system for evaluation of and coordinated service delivery for children who may be victims of abuse, neglect, sexual assault or sexual abuse, multineed children and children undergoing delinquency proceedings. It is the further purpose of this article to establish, as a complement to other programs of the department of health and human resources, a multidisciplinary screening, advisory and planning system to assist courts in facilitating permanency planning, to recommend alternatives and to coordinate evaluations and in-community services. It is the further purpose of this article to ensure that children are safe from abuse and neglect and to coordinate investigation of alleged child abuse offenses and competent criminal prosecution of offenders to ensure that safety, as determined appropriate by the prosecuting attorney.
(b) Nothing in this article precludes any multidisciplinary team from considering any case upon the consent of the members of the team.

§49-5D-2. Multidisciplinary investigative teams; establishment; procedures; coordination between agencies.

(a) The prosecuting attorney shall establish a multidisciplinary investigative team in each county. The multidisciplinary team shall be headed and directed by the prosecuting attorney and shall include as permanent members the prosecuting attorney or his or her designee, a local childprotective services caseworker from the department of health and human resources and a local law-enforcement officer employed by a law-enforcement agency in the county. The department of health and human resources and any local law-enforcement agency or agencies selected by the prosecuting attorney shall appoint their representatives to the team by submitting a written designation of the team to the prosecuting attorney of each county within thirty days of the prosecutor's request that the appointment be made. Within fifteen days of the appointment, the prosecuting attorney shall notify the chief judge of each circuit within which the county is situated of the names of the representatives so appointed. Any other person or any other appointee of an agency who may contribute to the team's efforts to assist a minor child as may be determined by the permanent members of the team may also be appointed as a member of the team by the prosecutor with notification to the chief judge.
(b) Any permanent member of the multidisciplinary investigative team shall refer all cases of accidental death of any child reported to their agency and all cases when a child dies while in the custody of the state for investigation and review by the team. The multidisciplinary investigative team shall meet at regular intervals at least once every calendar month.
(c) The investigative team shall be responsible for coordinating or cooperating in the initial and ongoing investigation of all civil and criminal allegations pertinent tocases involving child sexual assault, child sexual abuse, child abuse and neglect, and shall make a recommendation to the county prosecuting attorney as to the initiation or commencement of a civil petition and/or criminal prosecution.
(d) State, county and local agencies shall provide the multidisciplinary investigative team with any information requested in writing by the team as allowable by law or upon receipt of a certified copy of the circuit court's order directing said agencies to release information in its possession relating to the child. The team shall assure that all information received and developed in connection with the provisions of this article remains confidential. For purposes of this section, the term "confidential" shall be construed in accordance with the provisions of section one, article seven of this chapter.

§49-5D-3. Multidisciplinary treatment planning process.

(a) On or before the first day of January, one thousand nine hundred ninety-five, a multidisciplinary treatment planning process shall be established within each county of the state, either separately or in conjunction with a contiguous county by the secretary of the department of health and human resources, with advice and assistance from the prosecutor's advisory council as set forth in section four, article four, chapter seven of this code.
Treatment teams shall assess, plan and implement a comprehensive, individualized service plan for children who are victims of abuse, neglect, sexual assault or sexual abuse,multineed children and their families and for children and their families involved in delinquency proceedings.
(b) Each treatment team shall be convened and directed by the child's or family's case manager. The treatment team shall consist of the child's custodial parent(s) or guardian(s), other immediate family members, the attorney(s) representing the parent(s) of the child if assigned by a judge of the circuit court, the child, if the child is over the age of twelve, and if the child's participation is otherwise appropriate, the child, if under the age of twelve when the team determines that the child's participation is appropriate, the guardian ad litem, the prosecuting attorney or his or her designee, and any other agency, person or professional who may contribute to the team's efforts to assist the child and family.
(c) The treatment team shall coordinate their activities and membership with local family resource networks, and coordinate with other local and regional child and family service planning committees to assure the efficient planning and delivery of child and family services on a local and regional level.
(d) State, county and local agencies shall provide the multidisciplinary treatment teams with any information requested in writing by the team as allowable by law or upon receipt of a certified copy of the circuit court's order directing said agencies to release information in its possession relating to the child. The team shall assure that all information received and developed in connection with the provisions of this articleremain confidential. For purposes of this section, the term "confidential" shall be construed in accordance with the provisions of section one, article seven of this chapter.
§49-5D-4. Report of teams.
All persons directing any team created pursuant to this article shall maintain records of each meeting indicating the name and position of persons attending each meeting and the number of cases discussed at the meeting, including a designation of whether or not that case was previously discussed by any multidisciplinary team. Further, all investigative teams shall maintain a log of all cases to indicate the number of referrals to that team, whether or not a police report was filed with the prosecuting attorney's office, whether or not a petition was sought pursuant to section one, article six of this chapter, or whether or not a criminal complaint was issued and a case was criminally prosecuted. All treatment teams shall maintain a log of all cases to indicate the basis for failure to review a case for a period in excess of six months.

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