H. B. 4833
(By Delegate Spencer)
[Introduced February 24, 2006; referred to the
Committee on Government Organization.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §5-14-5 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, and to amend said code by adding thereto a
new section, designated §5-14-13, relating to the information
to be contained in the commission at-risk registry of deaf and
hearing impaired children; health privacy consent forms to be
contained in the registry; and authorizing doctors, hospitals
and other health care facilities to provide forms to parents
and legal guardians of deaf and hard of hearing children, in
compliance with federal health privacy standards, in order to
establish an at-risk registry for the West Virginia Commission
for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in order to provide services.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §5-14-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted; and that said code be amended by adding
thereto a new section, designated §5-14-13, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 14. WEST VIRGINIA COMMISSION FOR THE DEAF AND
HARD-OF-HEARING.
§5-14-5. Powers and duties of the commission; register of
hearing-impaired; duty to report to the commission;
census; information clearinghouse; coordination of
interpreters; outreach programs; seminars and
training sessions.
The commission shall maintain a complete register of persons
who are deaf or hard-of-hearing in the state. For each
hearing-impaired person, the register shall describe the condition
and cause of the hearing problem, the person's capacity for
education and industrial training and any other facts the
commission considers valuable. Identifying information contained
in the register is confidential:
Provided, That information
collected and maintained in the register will be available upon
request to other government agencies in order to facilitate
services to their hearing-impaired clients. Every health,
educational and social agency and physician or other medical
professional serving hearing-impaired individuals shall report to
the commission, in writing, the name, age and residence of persons
who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.
This register shall contain the
consent forms signed by the individuals or the parents or legal
guardians of these infants and children who are deaf or hard of
hearing that are in compliance with all health privacy standards contained in the Federal Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), 42 U.S.C. 1320d-2 and its
accompanying regulations in 45 C.F.R. 164.500.
In addition to the register, the commission is responsible for
conducting and maintaining a census of both the deaf and
hard-of-hearing populations in West Virginia. Such census shall
contain state, county and city figures.
The commission shall maintain a clearinghouse of information,
the purpose of which is to aid hearing-impaired persons and others
in obtaining appropriate services or information about such
services, including, but not limited to, education, communication
(including interpreters), group home facilities, independent living
skills, recreational facilities, employment, vocational training,
health and mental health services, substance abuse and other
services necessary to assure their ability to function in society.
The commission shall consult existing public and private agencies
and organizations in compiling and maintaining the clearinghouse.
The commission shall establish, maintain and coordinate a
statewide service to provide courts, state and local legislative
bodies and others with a list of qualified and certified
interpreters for the deaf and a list of qualified and certified
teachers of American sign language.
The Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Resources
shall promulgate rules pursuant to article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code for the state quality assurance
evaluation, including the establishment of required qualifications
and ethical standards for interpreters, the approval of
interpreters, the monitoring and investigation of interpreters and
the suspension and revocation of approvals. The commission may
conduct national association of the deaf interpreter evaluations
and collect and expend funds with regard thereto.
The commission shall develop an outreach program to
familiarize the public with the rights and needs of
hearing-impaired people and of available services.
The commission shall investigate the condition of the
hearing-impaired in this state with particular attention to those
who are aged, homeless, needy, victims of rubella and victims of
abuse or neglect. It shall determine the means the state possesses
for establishing group homes for its hearing-impaired citizens and
the need for additional facilities. The commission shall also
determine the advisability and necessity of providing services to
the multihandicapped hearing-impaired.
5-14-13. Consent forms for at-risk registry; privacy standards.
Pursuant to the provisions of this article, doctors, hospitals
and other health care facilities who treat infants and children
diagnosed as being deaf or hard of hearing shall provide consent
forms for the parents or legal guardians of these children to sign
in order for the infants and children to be placed on an at-risk registry for the commission in order for the commission to provide
proper services to the infants and children. The consent forms
shall be accompanied by all relevant information on services
provided to infants and children who are diagnosed as being deaf or
hard of hearing by the commission. This consent form shall be in
compliance with all privacy standards and contain all requisite
privacy language in accordance with the Federal Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), 42 U.S.C.
1320d-2 and its accompanying regulations in 45 C.F.R. 164.500. The
doctors, hospitals and other health care facilities shall be in
compliance with these federal privacy and disclosure requirements
when supplying the commission with this information.
Every health, educational and social agency and physician or
other medical professional serving deaf or hard of hearing
individuals shall report to the commission, in writing, the name,
address and age of persons deaf and hard of hearing. This list
shall also contain the consent forms signed by the parents or legal
guardians of these infants and children who are deaf or hard of
hearing that are in compliance with all health privacy standards
contained in the Federal Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), 42 U.S.C. 1320d-2 and its
accompanying regulations in 45 C.F.R. 164.500.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize doctors,
hospitals and other health care facilities who treat infants and children diagnosed as being deaf or hard of hearing to provide
consent forms to their parents or legal guardians in order to put
these infants and children on an at-risk registry for the West
Virginia Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing to provide
services. The bill also requires consent forms with federal health
privacy standards contained in them signed by parents and legal
guardians to be put in the registry.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
§5-14-13 is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring
have been omitted.
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