Senate Bill No. 520
(By Senator Jones)
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[Introduced March 22, 1993; referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section nine, article six-a, chapter
forty-nine of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to child sexual
abuse generally; providing for the establishment of
multidisciplinary teams; investigation protocols; and
providing that the county prosecuting attorney take an
active role in preparing victims of child sexual abuse for
court activities.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section nine, article six-a, chapter forty-nine of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 6A. REPORTS OF CHILDREN SUSPECTED TO BE ABUSED OR
NEGLECTED.
§49-6A-9. Establishment of child protective services;
multidisciplinary teams; general duties and powers;
cooperation of other state agencies; duties of prosecuting
attorneys.
(a) The state department of health and human resources shall
establish or designate in every county a local child protective
service workers to perform the duties and functions set forth in
this article.
(b) Except in cases involving institutional abuse or cases
in which police investigation also appears appropriate, The child
protective service worker shall be the sole public agency lead
person responsible for investigating or arranging for
investigation and coordinating the investigation of all reports
of child abuse or neglect Provided, That under no circumstances
shall investigating personnel be relatives of the accused, the
child or the families involved. In accordance with the local
plan for child protective services, it and shall provide
protective services to prevent further abuse or neglect of
children and provide for or arrange for and coordinate and
monitor the provision of those services necessary to ensure the
safety of children. The local child protective service shall be
organized to maximize the continuity of responsibility, care and
service of individual workers for individual children and
families.
Each investigation of reported or suspected sexual abuse of
a child shall be conducted by a specialized multidisciplinary
team composed of a least one law-enforcement officer and a child
protective service worker. The county prosecutor and other
professionals from fields which serve children may also serve asmembers of the team. The multidisciplinary team shall operate
under protocols governing roles, responsibilities and procedures
developed jointly by the department of health and human
resources, the state supreme court of appeals, the superintendent
of the division of public safety and the attorney general.
Each local child protective service worker shall:
(1) Receive or arrange for the receipt of all reports of
children known or suspected to be abused or neglected on a
twenty-four hour, seven-day-a-week basis and cross-file all such
reports under the names of the children, the family, any person
substantiated as being an abuser or neglector by investigation of
the department of human services, with use of such cross-filing
of such person's name limited to the internal use of the
department; identified as a perpetrator of child abuse or
neglect.
(2) Provide or arrange for emergency children's services to
be available at all times;
(3) Within twenty-four hours of Upon notification of
suspected child abuse or neglect, commence or cause to be
commenced initiate a thorough investigation of the report and the
child's environment.
(c) If as a result of the investigation, the child
protective service worker believes that the child is in eminent
danger, the child protective service worker shall remove the
child and place the child in a protective environment pending
resolution of the investigation.
(c) (d) In those cases in which the local child protective
service determines that the best interests of the child require
court action, the local child protective service in cooperation
with the county prosecuting attorney shall initiate the
appropriate legal proceeding.
(d) (e) The local child protective service shall be
responsible for providing, directing or coordinating the
appropriate and timely delivery of services to any child
suspected or known to be abused or neglected, including services
to the child's family and those responsible for the child's care;
and
(e) (f) To carry out the purposes of this article, all
departments, boards, bureaus and other agencies of the state or
any of its political subdivisions and all agencies providing
services under the local child protective service plan shall,
upon request, provide to the local child protective service such
assistance and information as will enable it to fulfill its
responsibilities.
In cases of sexual abuse, investigation protocols shall be
developed in each county by the department of health and human
resources, local law-enforcement agencies, prosecuting attorneys
and professionals who may provide assistance in the
investigation. County prosecuting attorneys shall take an active
part in interviewing and familiarizing the child alleged to have
been abused, or who is testifying as a witness, with the
proceedings throughout the case, beginning as early aspracticable in the case. When possible, the involvement of the
child in legal proceedings shall be minimized.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide a system of
investigation of alleged sexual abuse of children which
incorporates representatives of various agencies as a
multidisciplinary team to conduct the investigation under a
protocol developed for that purpose. The bill also provides that
child protective service workers shall have increased
responsibilities.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.