Chapter 49, Chapter 49

The privileged quality of communications between husband and wife and between any professional person and his or her patient or his or her client, except that between attorney and client, is hereby abrogated in situations involving suspected or known child abuse or neglect.

(a) Any person, official or institution required by this article to report a case involving a child known or suspected to be abused or neglected, or required by section eight hundred nine of this article to forward a copy of a report of serious injury, who knowingly fails to do s…

The Department of Human Services shall maintain a statewide child abuse and neglect statistical index of all substantiated allegations of child abuse or neglect cases to include information contained in the reports required under this article and any other information considered …

(a) This section may be referred to as "Erin Merryn's Law". (b) The Task Force on Prevention of Sexual Abuse of Children is established. The task force consists of the following members: (1) The Chair of the West Virginia Senate Committee on Health and Human Resources, or his or …

(a) Beginning October 1, 2027, the department shall implement a pilot project in two counties that requires the use of mobile devices, including, but not limited to, computers or tablets, to access the department’s case management system. The purpose of the project is to assist C…

(a) It is the policy of the state to: (1) Provide a coordinated continuum of care for its children who have been charged with an offense which would be a crime if committed by an adult, whether they are taken into custody and securely detained or released pending adjudication by …

(a) The Division of Juvenile Services is created within the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety. The director shall be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate and shall be responsible for the control and supervision of each of its offices.…

The Division of Juvenile Services has the following duties as to juveniles in detention facilities or juvenile corrections facilities: (1) Cooperating with the United States Department of Justice in operating, maintaining and improving juvenile correction facilities and predispos…

The Division of Juvenile Services shall propose rules for Legislative approval pursuant to chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, which require juvenile corrections officers and detention center employees to complete specialized training and certification. The training programs shal…

(a) All persons employed at a juvenile detention or corrections facility shall be employed at a salary and with benefits consistent with the approved plan of compensation of the Division of Personnel, created under section five, article six, chapter twenty-nine of this code; all …

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the director, or his or her designee, is hereby authorized to consent to the medical or other treatment of any juvenile in the legal or physical custody of the director or the division. (b) In providing or arranging …

(a) As a part of the disposition for a juvenile who has been adjudicated delinquent, and who has been determined by a risk and needs assessment to be high risk or who has committed an act or acts of violence, the court may, upon its own motion or upon request of counsel, order th…

(a) The State Board of Education is authorized to provide for adequate and appropriate education opportunities for juveniles placed in secure predispositional or post dispositional centers operated by or under contract with the Division of Juvenile Services. (b) Subject to approp…

(a) Persons employed by the Division of Juvenile Services as juvenile correctional officers are authorized and empowered to arrest persons already in the custody of the Division of Juvenile Services for violations of law that occur in the officer's presence, including escape. (b)…

(a) The Director of Juvenile Services may establish at each facility under his or her jurisdiction a "Juvenile Trustee Fund". The administrator or designee of each facility may receive and take charge of the money and personal property, as defined by policy, of all juveniles in h…

(a) There is hereby established a special revenue account in the State Treasury for each juvenile benefit fund established by the director. Moneys received by an institution for deposit in an juvenile benefit fund shall be deposited with the State Treasurer to be credited to the …

(a) The Division of Juvenile Services shall operate community-based youth reporting centers to provide services to youth involved in the juvenile justice system as an alternative to detention, corrections or out-of-home placement. (b) Based upon identifiable need, the Division of…

Child advocacy centers provide the following services to children in the child welfare program in West Virginia: (1) Operation of a child-appropriate or child-friendly facility that provides a comfortable, private setting that is both physically and psychologically safe for clien…

A court appointed special advocate (CASA) shall operate as follows: (1) Standards: CASA programs shall be members in good standing with the West Virginia Court Appointed Special Advocate Association, Inc., and the National Court Appointed Special Advocates Association and adhere …

The powers and jurisdiction of the court, under the provisions of this chapter, may be exercised by the judge in vacation.

Cases under this chapter, if tried in any inferior court, may be reviewed by writ of error or appeal to the circuit court, and if tried or reviewed in a circuit court, by writ of error or appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeals.

Any evidence given in any cause or proceeding under this chapter, or any order, judgment or finding therein, or any adjudication upon the status of juvenile delinquent heretofore made or rendered, may not in any civil, criminal or other cause or proceeding whatever in any court, …

(a) The Supreme Court of Appeals, in consultation with the Department of Human Services and the Division of Juvenile Services in order to eliminate unnecessary state funding of out-of-home placements where federal funding is available, shall develop and disseminate form court ord…

A hearing by a circuit court of competent jurisdiction is required to determine whether or not "reasonable efforts" have been made to stabilize and maintain the family situation before any child may be placed outside the home, except that in the event any child appears in imminen…

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 we…

A person who violates an order, rule, or regulation made under the authority of this chapter, or who violates this chapter for which punishment has not been specifically provided, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction shall be fined not less than $10 nor more than $100,…

(a) At any time during any proceedings brought pursuant to this chapter, the court may upon its own motion, or upon a motion of any party, order the Department of Human Services to pay the Medicaid rates for professional services rendered by a health care professional to a child …

This chapter may not be construed to give the guardian appointed hereunder the guardianship of the estate of the child, or to change the age of minority for any other purpose except the custody of the child. The guardian of the estate of a child committed to guardianship hereunde…

(a) For each child who remains in foster care as a result of a juvenile proceeding or as a result of a child abuse and neglect proceeding, the circuit court with the assistance of the multidisciplinary treatment team shall conduct quarterly status reviews in order to determine th…

(a) The department may temporarily remove a child from a foster home based on an allegation of abuse or neglect, including sexual abuse, that occurred while the child resided in the home. If the department determines that reasonable cause exists to support the allegation, the dep…

(a) From funds appropriated to the Department of Human Services, the secretary shall establish a system of assistance for facilitating the adoption or legal guardianship of children. An adoption subsidy shall be available for children who are legally free for adoption and who are…

(a) A child committed to the department for guardianship, after termination of parental rights, shall remain in the care of the department until he or she attains the age of eighteen years, or is married, or is adopted, or guardianship is relinquished through the court. (b) A chi…

(a)(1) Whenever a child welfare agency licensed to place children for adoption or the Department of Human Services has been given the permanent legal and physical custody of any child and the rights of the mother and the rights of the legal, determined, putative, outside or unkno…

(a) A child over the age of sixteen may petition a court to be declared emancipated. The parents or custodians shall be made respondents and, in addition to personal service thereon, there shall be publication as a Class II legal advertisement in compliance with article three, ch…

(a) Within ninety days of the date of the signatures to a voluntary placement agreement, after receipt of physical custody, the department shall file with the court a petition for review of the placement. The petition shall include: (1) A statement regarding the child's situation…

In any case where parental rights have been terminated under chapter 49 of this code, the Department of Human Services shall provide a certificate containing the information required by §48-22-502(a)(5) of this code to any person, or the attorney of any person, petitioning to ado…

(a) The Supreme Court of Appeals is requested to create a pilot project utilizing child protection commissioners to encourage efficiency and ensure accountability in court actions filed pursuant to this chapter. (b) A child protection commissioner is a judicial officer and shall …

(a) A hospital or health care facility operating in this state, or a fire department, emergency medical service facility, police department, 911 call center, or sheriff’s detachment that has been designated a safe-surrender site under §49-4-206 of this code, shall, without a cour…

(a) (1) Not later than the close of the first business day after the date on which a hospital or health care facility takes possession of a child pursuant to §49-4-201 of this code, the hospital or health care facility shall notify the Child Protective Services Division that it h…

A child of whom the Department of Human Services assumes care, control and custody under this article is a relinquished child and to be treated in all respects as a child taken into custody pursuant to §49-4-303. Upon taking custody of a child under this article, the department, …

A parent who relinquishes his or her child in good faith within thirty days of the child's birth under this article is immune from prosecution under subsection (a), section four, article eight-d, chapter sixty-one of this code.

The child is eligible for adoption as an abandoned child under chapter forty-eight of the code.

The governing entity of a local fire department, emergency medical service facility, police department, 911 call center, or sheriff’s detachment that is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, may designate the premises of its fire department, emergency medical service facilit…

(a) A child believed to be a neglected child or an abused child may be taken into custody without the court order otherwise required by section six hundred two of this article by a law-enforcement officer if: (1) The child is without supervision or shelter for an unreasonable per…

(a) Notwithstanding the jurisdictional limitations contained in section two, article two-a, chapter fifty-one of this code, family court judges are authorized to order the department to take emergency custody of a child who is in the physical custody of a party to an action or pr…

Prior to the filing of a petition, a child protective service worker may take the child or children into his or her custody (also known as removing the child) without a court order when: (1) In the presence of a child protective service worker a child or children are in an emerge…

(1) Provides 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; (2) Establishes, as a complement to other programs of the Department of Human S…

(a) The prosecuting attorney of each county shall establish a multidisciplinary investigative team in that county. The multidisciplinary team shall be headed and directed by the prosecuting attorney, or his or her designee, and includes as permanent members: (1) The prosecuting a…

(a)(1) A multidisciplinary treatment planning process for cases initiated pursuant to part six and part seven of article four of this chapter shall be established within each county of the state, either separately or in conjunction with a contiguous county, by the secretary of th…

(a) In any case in which a multidisciplinary treatment team develops an individualized service plan for a child or family pursuant to 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…