ENROLLED
H. B. 4598
(By Delegates Mahan, Amores and Palumbo)
[Passed March 10, 2004; in effect ninety days from passage
.]
AN ACT to amend and reenact §49-1-5 of the code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to restricting courts from
requiring
conditions on the out-of-home placement of children
inconsistent with existing licensing regulations.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §49-1-5 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. PURPOSES; DEFINITIONS.
§49-1-5. Limitation on out-of-home placement.
Before any child may be directed for placement in a particular
facility or for services of a child welfare agency licensed by the
department, a court shall make inquiry into the bed space of the
facility available to accommodate additional children and the
ability of the child welfare agency to meet the particular needs of
the child. A court shall not order the placement of a child in a
particular facility if it has reached its licensed capacity or order conditions on the placement of the child which conflict with
licensure regulations applicable to the facility promulgated
pursuant to the provisions of article two-b of this chapter and
articles one-a, nine and seventeen, chapter twenty-seven of this
code. Further, a child welfare agency is not required to accept
placement of a child at a particular facility if the facility
remains at licensed capacity or is unable to meet the particular
needs of the child. A child welfare agency is not required to make
special dispensation or accommodation, reorganize existing child
placement, or initiate early release of children in placement to
reduce actual occupancy at the facility.
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