ENROLLED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 4649
(By Delegates Amores, Fleischauer,
Craig and Schadler)
[Passed March 11, 2004; in effect ninety days from passage.]
AN ACT to amend and reenact §49-5D-2, §49-5D-3 and §49-5D-3a of the
code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to child
welfare; providing for a child advocacy center participation
in multidisciplinary investigative teams; providing for
uniform comprehensive assessments of children; preference to
instate placement; including in team, child, the juvenile's
attorney, appropriate school official, court-appointed special
advocate when available, and a representative from the
licensed domestic violence program serving the county, when
appropriate and available; requiring team preference of in-
state placement; requiring court preference of instate
placement; and requiring that reasons for out-of-state
placement be in order.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §49-5D-2, §49-5D-3 and §49-5D-3a of the code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read
as follows:
ARTICLE 5D. MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAMS.
§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 child
protective services caseworker from the department of health and
human resources, a local law-enforcement officer employed by a law-
enforcement agency in the county and, where appropriate to the
particular case under consideration and available, a child advocacy
center representative, and a representative from the licensed
domestic violence program serving 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 to
cases 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)(1) 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 for
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 or placing the juvenile
out-of-home at the department's expense pursuant to the provisions
of section thirteen of said article. In any such status offense or
delinquency case, the juvenile probation officer shall notify the
local office of the department of health and human resources and
the division of juvenile services at least five working days before
the court proceeding in order to allow the multidisciplinary
treatment team to convene and develop a comprehensive
individualized service plan for the child:
Provided, That such
notice is not required in cases where the child is already in state
custody or there exist exigent circumstances which justify taking
the child immediately into custody without a judicial proceeding.
In developing an individualized service plan for a child, the team
shall utilize a uniform comprehensive assessment of the child. The
department shall adopt a standard uniform comprehensive assessment
instrument or protocol to be used by treatment teams.
(3) Prior to disposition, in each case in which a treatment planning team has been convened, the team shall advise the court as
to the types of services the team has determined are needed and the
type of placement, if any, which will best serve the needs of the
child. If the team determines that an out-of-home placement will
best serve the needs of the child, the team shall first consider
placement at facilities or programs located within the state. The
team may only recommend placement in an out-of-state facility if it
concludes, after considering the best interests and overall needs
of the child, that there are no available and suitable in-state
facilities which can satisfactorily meet the specific needs of the
child.
(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 or parents, guardian or guardians,
other immediate family members, the attorney or attorneys
representing the child, the parent or parents of the child, the
child's attorney, the guardian ad litem, if any, the prosecuting
attorney or his or her designee and where appropriate to the
particular case under consideration and available, a court-
appointed special advocate, an appropriate school official and any
other person or an agency representative who may assist in
providing recommendations for the particular needs of the child and
family. The child may participate in multidisciplinary treatment
team meetings if such is deemed appropriate by the
multidisciplinary treatment team. For purposes of delinquency
proceedings, the juvenile probation officer shall be a member of
the treatment team.
(c) The treatment team shall coordinate its 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.
§49-5D-3a. Recommendation of team to the court; hearing
requirement; required findings.
(a) In any case in which a multidisciplinary treatment team
develops an individualized service plan for a child pursuant to the
provisions of section three of this article, the court shall review
the proposed service plan to determine if implementation of the
plan is in the child's best interests. If the multidisciplinary
team cannot agree on a plan or if the court determines not to adopt
the team's recommendations, it shall, upon motion or sua sponte
,
schedule and hold within ten days of such determination, and prior
to the entry of an order placing the child in the custody of the
department or in an out-of-home setting, a hearing to consider evidence from the team as to its rationale for the proposed service
plan. If, after a hearing held pursuant to the provisions of this
section, the court does not adopt the teams's recommended service
plan, it shall make specific written findings as to why the team's
recommended service plan was not adopted.
(b) In any case in which the court decides to order the child
placed in an out-of-state facility or program it shall set forth in
the order directing the placement the reasons why the child was not
placed in an in-state facility or program.
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