Chapter 49, Chapter 49

(a) This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "West Virginia Child Welfare Act." (b) The recodification of this chapter during the regular session of the Legislature in the year 2015 is intended to embrace in a revised, consolidated, and codified form and arrangement th…

In recodifying the child welfare law of this state during the regular session of the Legislature in the year 2015, it is intended by the Legislature that each specific reenactment of a substantively similar prior statutory provision will be construed as continuing the intended me…

The amendment and reenactment of chapter forty-nine of this code, as enacted by the Legislature during the regular session, 2015, are operative ninety days from passage. The prior enactments of chapter forty-nine of this code, whether amended and reenacted or repealed by the acti…

The Department of Human Services and the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety are not required to change any form or letter that contains a citation to this code that is changed or otherwise affected by the recodification.

(a) It is the purpose of this chapter to provide a system of coordinated child welfare and juvenile justice services for the children of this state. The state has a duty to assure that proper and appropriate care is given and maintained. (b) The child welfare and juvenile justice…

(a) The child welfare service of the state shall be located within and administered by the Bureau for Social Services. The Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation of the Department of Homeland Security shall administer the secure predispositional juvenile detention and juvenil…

When used in this chapter, terms defined in this section have the meanings ascribed to them that relate to, but are not limited to, child abuse and neglect, except in those instances where a different meaning is provided or the context in which the word is used clearly indicates …

When used in this chapter, terms defined in this section have the meanings ascribed to them that relate to, but are not limited to, adult, child, developmental disability, and transitioning adult status, except in those instances where a different meaning is provided or the conte…

When used in this chapter, terms defined in this section have the meanings ascribed to them that relate to, but are not limited to, licensing and approval of programs, except in those instances where a different meaning is provided or the context in which the word used clearly in…

When used in this chapter, terms defined in this section have the meanings ascribed to them that relate to, but are not limited to, custodians, legal guardians and family, except in those instances where a different meaning is provided or the context in which the word is used cle…

When used in this chapter, terms defined in this section have the meanings ascribed to them that relate to, but are not limited to, developmental disabilities, except in those instances where a different meaning is provided or the context in which the word is used clearly indicat…

When used in this chapter, the following terms have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise: "Child Advocacy Center (CAC)" means a community-based organization that is a member, in good standing, of the West Virginia Child Advocacy Network, Inc., as…

When used in this chapter, terms defined in this section have the meanings ascribed to them that relate to, but are not limited to, court actions, except in those instances where a different meaning is provided or the context in which the word is used clearly indicates that a dif…

When used in this chapter, terms defined in this section have the meanings ascribed to them that relate to, but are not limited to, state and local agencies, except in those instances where a different meaning is provided or the context in which the word is used clearly indicates…

As used in article six of this chapter: “Child” means an individual under the age of eighteen years who is not emancipated; “Clearinghouse” means the West Virginia missing children information clearinghouse; “Custodian” means a parent, guardian, custodian or other person who exer…

It is the intent of the Legislature to provide for the creation of all reasonable means and methods that can be established by a humane and enlightened state, solicitous of the welfare of its children, for the prevention of delinquency and for the care and rehabilitation of juven…

(a) The Department of Human Services and the Division of Juvenile Services of the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety shall establish programs and services designed to prevent juvenile delinquency, to divert juveniles from the juvenile justice system, to provide comm…

(a) The Department of Human Services shall establish and maintain one or more rehabilitative facilities to be used exclusively for the lawful custody of status offenders. Each facility will be a nonsecure facility having as its purpose the rehabilitation of status offenders. The …

There is created within the State Treasury a special revenue account designated "The Juvenile Services Reimbursement Offender Fund" within and for the benefit of the Division of Juvenile Services for expenses incurred in servicing juvenile status offenders in need of stabilizatio…

The Department of Human Services may require any juvenile committed to its legal custody to remain at and to return to the residence to which the juvenile is assigned by the department or by the juvenile court. In aid of that authority, and upon request of a designated employee o…

(a) The Department of Human Services and the Division of Juvenile Services shall annually review its programs and services and submit a report by December 31, of each year to the Governor, the Legislature and the Supreme Court of Appeals. This report shall analyze and evaluate th…

(a) The Bureau for Social Services is continued within the department. The bureau is under the immediate supervision of a commissioner. (b) The Bureau for Social Services is authorized to provide care, support, and protective services for children who are handicapped by dependenc…

Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, effective July 1, 2024, the commissioner shall allocate and station child protective services workers by county based on population, referrals, and average caseload. The allocation may not decrease below the bureau…

The state department shall have the authority to institute, in the name of the state, proceedings incident to the performance of its duties under the provisions of this chapter.

Any person, corporation, governmental official or child welfare agency, aggrieved by a decision of the secretary made pursuant to this chapter may contest the decision upon making a request for a hearing by the secretary within thirty days of receipt of notice of the decision. Ad…

It is the responsibility of the Department of Human Services to provide care for neglected children who are committed to its care for custody or guardianship. The department may provide this care for children in family homes meeting required standards of certification established…

(a) The department shall establish minimum standards for foster-home care to which all certified foster homes must conform by legislative rule. Any home that conforms to the standards of care set by the department shall receive a certificate of operation. (b) The certificate of o…

The department or its authorized agent shall visit and inspect every certified foster home as often as is necessary to assure proper care is given to the children. Every certified foster home shall maintain a record of the children received. This record shall include information …

An institution or organization incorporated under the laws of another state shall not place a child in a private home in the state without the approval of the department, and the agency so placing the child shall arrange for supervision of the child through its own staff or throu…

The department shall develop standards for the care of children. It shall cooperate with, advise, and assist all child welfare agencies, including state institutions, which care for children who have been neglected, have been adjudicated delinquent, or have special needs such as …

(a) The Legislature finds that there is a crisis in West Virginia in certain geographical regions of the state, that is caused by an absence of people employed by the Department of Human Services as child protective services workers, youth case workers, and support staff for thes…

(a) In order to improve standards of child care, the department shall cooperate with the governing boards of child welfare agencies, assist the personnel of those agencies through advice on progressive methods and procedures of child care and improvement of the service rendered, …

(a) For purposes of this section: (1) “Child” means: (A) A person of less than 18 years of age; or (B) A person 18 to 21 years of age who is eligible to receive the extended foster care services. (2) “Child-placing agency” means an agency licensed by the department to place a chi…

(a) The department shall conduct a study and make recommendations for improving services provided for kinship foster care families. This study shall include at a minimum: (1) A review of best practices in other states; (2) A proposal for an alternate system of regulation for kins…

(a) Subject to appropriations by the Legislature, the department shall: (1) Enhance and increase efforts to provide services to prevent the removal of children from their homes; (2) Identify relatives and fictive kin of children in need of placement outside of the home; (3) Train…

Before issuing a charter for the incorporation of any organization having as its purpose the receipt of children for care or for placement in family homes, the Secretary of State shall provide a copy of the petition, together with any other information in his or her possession pe…

(a) Any person, corporation, or child welfare agency, other than a state agency, which operates a residential child-care center shall obtain a license from the department. (b) Any residential child-care facility, day-care center, or any child-placing agency operated by the state …

(a) Any person or corporation or any governmental agency intending to act as a child welfare agency shall apply for a license, approval or registration certificate to operate child care facilities regulated by this chapter. Applications for licensure, approval or registration sha…

(a) A license or approval is effective for a period up to two years from the date of issuance, unless revoked or modified to provisional status based on evidence of a failure to comply with this chapter or any legislative rules promulgated by the secretary. The license or approva…

(a) A Head Start program in good standing with the United States Department of Health and Human Services pursuant to 42 USC § 9381 et seq. may request to be deemed a licensee to operate a child care program for the sole purpose of utilizing the West Virginia Clearance for Access:…

(a) The secretary shall enforce this article. (b) An on-site evaluation of every facility regulated pursuant to this chapter, except registered family child care homes, informal family child care and relative family child care homes shall be conducted no less than once per year b…

(a) The secretary may revoke or make provisional the licensure registration of any home facility or child welfare agency regulated pursuant to this chapter if a facility materially violates this article, or any terms or conditions of the license, registration or approval issued, …

When the secretary finds that the operation of a residential care facility constitutes an immediate danger of serious harm to children served by the facility, the secretary shall issue an order of closure terminating operation of the facility. When necessary, the secretary shall …

(a) The secretary shall provide supervision to ascertain compliance with the rules promulgated pursuant to this chapter through regular monitoring, visits to facilities, documentation, evaluation and reporting. The secretary is responsible for training and education, within fisca…

(a) Any individual or corporation which operates a child welfare agency, residential facility or child care center without a license when a license is required is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be confined in jail not exceeding one year, or fined not more tha…

(a) The secretary shall promulgate legislative rules in accordance with §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code regarding the licensure, approval, certification, and registration of child care facilities and the implementation of this article. (b) The secretary shall review the rules promu…

Waivers or variances of rules may be granted by the secretary if the health, safety or well-being of a child would not be endangered thereby. The secretary shall promulgate by legislative rule criteria and procedures for the granting of waivers or variances so that uniform practi…

(a) The secretary shall submit on or before January 1, of each year a report to the Governor and the Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and Human Resources Accountability, concerning the regulation of child welfare agencies, child placing agencies, child care centers, fam…

A certificate of need, as provided in §16-2D-1 et seq. of this code, is not required by an entity proposing behavioral health care facilities or behavioral health care services for children who are placed out of their home, or who are at imminent risk of being placed out of their…

(a) The Legislature finds that the state’s current system of serving children and families in need of or at risk of needing social, emotional and behavioral health services is fragmented. The existing categorical structure of government programs and their funding streams discoura…