Senate Bill No. 605
(By Senator Snyder)
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[Introduced February 20, 2004; referred to the Committee on
Health and Human Resources.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §49-5D-5 of the code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended; and to amend and reenact §49-6A-2 of said
code, all relating to child fatality review teams; requiring
that every all-terrain vehicle-related death of a child be
reviewed by the child fatality review team under the office of
the chief medical examiner; and requiring that every
substantial injury to or death of a child caused by or
involving the operation of an all-terrain vehicle be reported
to the state department of health and human resources.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §49-5D-5 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted; and that §49-6A-2 of said code be amended
and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5D. MULTI DISCIPLINARY TEAMS.
§49-5D-5. Child fatality review team.
(a) The child fatality review team is hereby established under
the office of the chief medical examiner. The child fatality review team is a multidisciplinary team created to review the
deaths of children under the age of eighteen years as provided
for
in this section.
(b) The child fatality review team is to consist of the
following members, appointed by the governor, to serve three-year
terms:
(1) The chief medical examiner, who is to serve as the
chairperson of the child fatality review team;
(2) Two prosecuting attorneys or their designees;
(3) The state superintendent of the West Virginia state police
or his or her designee;
(4) One law-enforcement official other than a member of the
West Virginia state police;
(5) One child protective services worker currently employed in
investigating reports of child abuse or neglect;
(6) One physician, specializing in the practice of pediatric
medicine or family medicine;
(7) One physician, specializing in the practice of pediatric
critical care medicine;
(8) One social worker who may be employed in the area of
public health;
(9) The director of the office of maternal and child health of
the department of health and human resources or his or her
designee;
(10) One representative of the sudden infant death syndrome
program of the office of maternal and child health;
(11) The director of the division of children's mental health
services of the office of behavioral health services or his or her
designee;
(12) The director of the office of social services of the
department of health and human resources or his or her designee;
(13) The superintendent of the department of education or his
or her designee;
(14) The director of the division of juvenile services or his
or her designee; and
(15) The president of the West Virginia association of school
nurses or his or her designee.
(c) Members of the child fatality review team shall, unless
sooner removed, continue to serve until their respective terms
expire and until their successors have been appointed and have
qualified.
(d) Each appointment of a prosecuting attorney, whether for a
full term or to fill a vacancy, is to be made by the governor from
among three nominees selected by the West Virginia prosecuting
attorneys institute. Each appointment of a law-enforcement
officer, whether for a full term or to fill a vacancy, is to be
made by the governor from among three nominees selected by the
state fraternal order of police or the West Virginia deputy
sheriff's association. Each appointment of a child protective
services worker and a social worker, whether for a full term or to
fill a vacancy, is to be made by the governor from among three
nominees selected by the West Virginia social work licensing board. Each appointment of a physician, whether for a full term or to fill
a vacancy, is to be made by the governor from among three nominees
selected by the West Virginia state medical association or the West
Virginia academy of pediatrics. When an appointment is for a full
term, the nomination is to be submitted to the governor not later
than eight months prior to the date on which the appointment is to
become effective. In the case of an appointment to fill a vacancy,
the nominations are to be submitted to the governor within thirty
days after the request for the nomination has been made by the
governor to the chairperson or president of the organization. When
an association fails to submit to the governor nominations for the
appointment in accordance with the requirements of this section,
the governor may make the appointment without nominations.
(e) Each member of the child fatality review team shall serve
without additional compensation and may not be reimbursed for any
expenses incurred in the discharge of his or her duties under the
provisions of this article.
(f) The child fatality review team shall, pursuant to the
provisions of chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, promulgate rules
applicable to the following:
(1) The standard procedures for the establishment, formation
and conduct of the child fatality review team; and
(2) Recommend protocols for the review of child fatalities
where other than natural causes are suspected.
(g) The child fatality review team shall:
(1) Review all deaths of children under the age of eighteen years who are residents of this state,
including every death of a
child, regardless of residency, occurring in this state in which an
all-terrain vehicle is involved, in order to identify trends,
patterns and risk factors;
(2) Provide statistical analysis regarding the causes of child
fatalities in West Virginia;
(3) Promote public awareness of the incidence and causes of
child fatalities, including recommendations for their reduction;
and
(4) Provide training for state agencies and local
multidisciplinary teams.
(h) The child fatality review team shall submit an annual
report to the governor and to the Legislature concerning its
activities and the incidents of child fatalities within the state.
The report is due annually on the first day of December. The
report is to include statistics setting forth the number of child
fatalities, identifiable trends in child fatalities in the state,
including possible causes, if any, and recommendations to reduce
the number of preventable child fatalities in the state. The
report is to also include the number of children whose deaths have
been determined to have been unexpected or unexplained.
(i) A local multidisciplinary investigative team created
pursuant to the provisions of section two of this article shall
review all cases referred to it pursuant to the provisions of that
section:
Provided, That a local multidisciplinary investigative
team may refer any or all cases for review of deaths to the child fatality review team. The local multidisciplinary investigative
team shall provide all information to the child fatality review
team necessary for the child fatality review team to create and
submit any report required by this section.
(j) The child fatality review team, in the exercise of its
duties as defined in this section, may not:
(1) Call witnesses or take testimony from individuals involved
in the investigation of a child fatality;
(2) Contact a family member of the deceased child, except if
a member of the team is involved in the investigation of the death
and must contact a family member in the course of performing his or
her duties outside of the team; or
(3) Enforce any public health standard or criminal law or
otherwise participate in any legal proceeding, except if a member
of the team is involved in the investigation of the death or
resulting prosecution and must participate in a legal proceeding in
the course of performing in his or her duties outside of the team.
(k) Proceedings, records and opinions of the child fatality
review team are confidential, in accordance with section one,
article seven, chapter forty-nine of this code, and are not subject
to discovery, subpoena or introduction into evidence in any civil
or criminal proceeding. Nothing in this subsection is to be
construed to limit or restrict the right to discover or use in any
civil or criminal proceeding anything that is available from
another source and entirely independent of the proceedings of the
child fatality review team.
(l) Members of the child fatality review team may not be
questioned in any civil or criminal proceeding regarding
information presented in or opinions formed as a result of a
meeting of the team. Nothing in this subsection may be construed
to prevent a member of the child fatality review team from
testifying to information obtained independently of the team or
which is public information.
ARTICLE 6A. REPORTS OF CHILDREN SUSPECTED TO BE ABUSED OR
NEGLECTED.
§49-6A-2. Persons mandated to report suspected abuse and neglect.
When any medical, dental or mental health professional,
christian science practitioner, religious healer, school teacher or
other school personnel, social service worker, child care or foster
care worker, emergency medical services personnel, peace officer or
law-enforcement official, member of the clergy, circuit court
judge, family law master, employee of the division of juvenile
services or magistrate has reasonable cause to suspect that a child
is neglected or abused or observes the child being subjected to
conditions that are likely to result in abuse,
or neglect or
injury
such person shall immediately, and not more than forty-eight hours
after suspecting this abuse
or neglect, report the circumstances or
cause a report to be made to the state department of health and
human resources:
Provided, That in any case where the reporter
believes that the child suffered serious physical abuse or sexual
abuse or sexual assault, the reporter shall also immediately
report, or cause a report to be made, to the division of public safety and any law-enforcement agency having jurisdiction to
investigate the complaint:
Provided, however, That any person
required to report under this article who is a member of the staff
of a public or private institution, school, facility or agency
shall immediately notify the person in charge of such institution,
school, facility or agency, or a designated agent thereof, who
shall report or cause a report to be made. However, nothing in
this article is intended to prevent individuals from reporting on
their own behalf.
In addition to those persons and officials specifically
required to report situations involving suspected abuse or neglect
of children, any other person may make a report if such person has
reasonable cause to suspect that a child has been abused or
neglected in a home or institution or observes the child being
subjected to conditions or circumstances that would reasonably
result in abuse,
or neglect
or substantial injury.
For the purposes of this section, every substantial injury or
death of a child caused by or involving the operation of an all-
terrain vehicle shall be reported by the individuals required to
report suspected or observed child abuse and neglect, as provided
in this section, as suspected child abuse or neglect and shall be
investigated by the state department of health and human resources.
Any other person with knowledge of a substantial injury to or death
of a child caused by or involving the operation of an all-terrain
vehicle may report the injury or death to the state department of
health and human resources. The state department of health and human resources shall cause to be investigated all reports of an
injury to or death of a child caused by or involving the operation
of an all-terrain vehicle as a case of suspected child abuse or
neglect.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require that every
all-terrain vehicle related death of a child be reviewed by the
child fatality review team under the office of the chief medical
examiner and to require that every substantial injury to or death
of a child caused by or involving the operation of an all-terrain
vehicle be reported to the state department of health and human
resources as suspected child abuse or neglect. Under the bill, the
department of health and human resources is required to investigate
all reports of substantial injury to or death of a child involving
the operation of an all-terrain vehicle.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.)
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