ENGROSSED
Senate Bill No. 720
(By Senators Wooton, Craigo, Jackson,
Walker, White, Buckalew and Scott)
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[Introduced February 23, 1998; referred to
the Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend article five, chapter forty-nine of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
twenty-one; and to amend and reenact sections one and three,
article five-d of said chapter, all relating to providing
for regular judicial review of certain juvenile proceedings.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article five, chapter forty-nine of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
twenty-one; and that sections one and three, article five-d of
said chapter be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. JUVENILE PROCEEDINGS.
§49-5-21. Quarterly judicial review of juvenile proceedings.
For cases under this article in which the provisions of
section three, article five-d of this chapter apply, the court
wherein the juvenile proceeding is pending shall conduct regular
judicial review of the case with the multidisciplinary treatment
team and a juvenile probation officer in attendance. Such
judicial review may be conducted as often as is considered
necessary by the court, but shall be conducted at least once
every three calendar months until the case is wholly resolved and
finally dismissed from the docket of the court.
In conducting the judicial review required by this section,
the court shall address the extent of progress in the case,
treatment and service needs, permanent placement planning for the
juvenile any uncontested issues and any other matters that the
court considers pertinent. An order reflecting the matters
considered, any uncontested rulings and the scheduling of an
evidentiary hearing on any contested issue shall be issued by the
court within ten judicial days of the judicial review.
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 or neglect and children undergoing
certain status offense and 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, following the
initiation of judicial proceedings, 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-3. Multidisciplinary treatment planning process.
(a)
(1) 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 with advice and assistance from
the prosecutor's advisory council as set forth in section four,
article four, chapter seven of this code.
(2) Treatment teams shall assess, plan and implement a comprehensive, individualized service plan for children who are
victims of abuse or neglect and their families when a judicial
proceeding has been initiated involving the child or children and
for
children juveniles and their families involved in
status
offense or delinquency proceedings
when, in a status offense
proceeding, the court refers the juvenile for services pursuant
to sections eleven and eleven-a, article five of this chapter,
and when, in a delinquency proceeding, the court is considering
placing the juvenile in the department's custody and/or placing
the juvenile out-of-home at the department's expense, pursuant to
section thirteen of said article.
(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 article
remain 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.
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