H.
B.
4319
(By Delegates Douglas and Brown)
[Introduced February 2, 1994; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]
A BILL to amend chapter forty-nine of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding thereto a new article, designated article five-d, relating to creation of interagency planning and placement committees; requiring the secretary of the department of health and human resources to make services of interagency planning and placement committees available within each judicial circuit; members on committees; authorizing courts to use the services of an interagency planning and placement committee; population to be served; procedures; development of individualized service plan; monitoring responsibilities of department of health and human resources; interagency cooperation; and confidentiality.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That chapter forty-nine of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new article, designated article five-d, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5D. INTERAGENCY PLANNING AND PLACEMENT COMMITTEES.
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49-5D-1. Purpose.
The purpose of this article is to provide a system for evaluation of minor children, prior to placement by court order for long periods of time outside their homes, so that placements are appropriate to the needs of the child. It is further the purpose of this article to establish an interagency planning and placement committee to assist courts and agencies charged with providing services to youth under the age of twenty-one years, to evaluate alternatives with respect to placements and services and to coordinate interagency planning.
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49-5D-2. Interagency planning and placement committees;
establishment; members.
The secretary of the department of health and human resources shall make available the services of an interagency planning and placement committee, hereinafter referred to as the IPPC, within each judicial circuit of the state. The IPPC shall consist of a representative from the department of health and human resources office of social services, the county boards of education, and community behavioral health centers. Each of these agencies shall designate a local representative or representatives for each judicial circuit within thirty days of the initial effective date of this article. Any other agency or person who may contribute positively to efforts to assist youth referred to the committee may be included on the committee at the discretion of the permanent members on a case-by-case basis. The secretary of the department of health and human resources shall notify the chief judge of each circuit of the names of the standing representatives so designated within fifteen days of their designation.
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49-5D-3. Procedures; powers and duties; organizational and
monitoring responsibilities of the department of
health and human resources.
(a) Whenever, after final adjudication of a matter involving a minor child appearing before the circuit court pursuant to the provisions of articles five or six of this chapter, the court is considering placement outside the child's home and it is anticipated that the period would exceed ten calendar days, the circuit court may direct, upon motion by any party or upon the court's own motion, that the minor child be referred to the IPPC for evaluation and service recommendations.
(b) When the IPPC receives a referral from the circuit court, it shall forthwith direct and coordinate an evaluation appropriate to the youth's circumstances. The IPPC shall meet, review any diagnostic reports received as part of the evaluation, and develop a recommendation with regard to future services the youth might need as well as a recommendation regarding disposition or placement appropriate to his or her needs.
(c) With respect to proceedings under article five of this chapter, juvenile probation officers may choose to attend meetings of the IPPC. The youth's attorney shall be invited to participate in all meetings. If considered appropriate by all those attending the meeting, the prosecuting attorney may also attend meetings of the IPPC held with respect to proceedings under article five of this chapter.
(d) Upon the completion of the evaluation and the youth's return to court, the court shall consider the evaluation and any recommendations submitted by the IPPC. With respect to orders placing a minor child outside his or her home, if the court determines to order an out-of-home placement inconsistent with the IPPC's recommendation, the court shall enter the reasons for such determination into the court record.
(e) Any agency member of the IPPC may refer to the committee any youth under the age of twenty-one years who requires services not readily available in the community or accessible by a single state agency. Prior to initiating the referral, the agency employee responsible for case management services for the youth referred shall prepare, collect, or otherwise assemble all reasonably accessible information, data or other documents necessary to assist the IPPC in developing a plan. Upon receiving the referral, the IPPC shall, after review, develop an individualized service plan. The individualized service plan shall:
(1) Specify the services to be provided, including further evaluation if needed;
(2) Name the specific individual and agency to provide each service;
(3) Identify sources of funding used to provide the services and the persons responsible for securing these funds;
(4) Name the agency and individual responsible for case management;
(5) Specify how the case shall be monitored and evaluated;
(6) Document parental/custodial and client agreement or disagreement with the service plan;
(7) Document the agency's agreement to participate in the service plan; and
(8) Provide for case review.
(f) The secretary of the department of health and human resources, or his or her designee, shall, with the assistance of the county board of education, organize, convene and monitor the IPPC and coordinate the provision of services needed to implement the IPPC's decision including preparation of recommendations to courts. In addition, the secretary of the department of health and human resources, with the assistance of the county board of education, shall implement and operate a statewide tracking and monitoring system to follow the youth through the various agency systems with which the youth becomes involved during the course of IPPC participation.
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49-5D-4. Diagnostic services; members; responsibilities.
The IPPC may use diagnostic services to evaluate minor children being considered by courts for out-of-home placement. Diagnostic services shall include existing public and private service providers in the area and may include representatives of community mental health centers, school psychologists and counselors, as well as other qualified mental health, health, education and social service professionals:
Provided,
That whenever possible the diagnostic services shall involve persons whose practices are located in the judicial circuit in which the minor child appears. If such persons are not available in the judicial circuit, the services shall be provided at a location as close as practicable to the minor child's residence or place of temporary placement.
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49-5D-5. Interdisciplinary cooperation; confidentiality.
To effectuate the purposes of this article, all departments, boards, bureaus and other agencies of the state or any of its political subdivisions, and all community behavioral health centers shall, upon request, provide to the IPPC and the agency designated to provide case management services, such assistance and information as available as will enable them to fulfill their responsibilities. The IPPC and agency designated shall assure confidentiality of all information received and generated.
The secretary of the department of health and human resources shall promulgate legislative rules, in accordance with the provisions of chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, to define the term "confidentiality" as used in this section, and to set forth procedures to be followed in acquiring the requested information.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to establish interagency planning and placement committees to assist courts when minor children are being considered for long-term out-of-home placement and to develop plans and coordinate services for youth requiring multiagency services.
This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.