Senate Bill No. 721
(By Senators Wooton, Craigo, Jackson, Walker,
White, Buckalew and Scott)
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[Introduced February 23, 1998; referred to
the Committee on Health and Human Resources;
and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section four, article one, chapter
forty-nine of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to amend and reenact
section one, article two of said chapter, all relating to
reinserting homes for unmarried mothers into the definition
of "child welfare agency" and providing that the department
of health and human resources is responsible for the infant
child of an unmarried juvenile who is in the department's
custody without requiring that parent to relinquish custody
of the infant to the department.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section four, article one, chapter forty-nine of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted; and that section one, article
two of said chapter be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. PURPOSES; DEFINITIONS.
§49-1-4. Other definitions.
As used in this chapter:
(1) "Child welfare agency" means any agency or facility
maintained by the state or any county or municipality of this
state, any agency or facility maintained by an individual, firm,
corporation, association or organization, public or private, to
receive children for care and maintenance or for placement in
residential care facilities, or any facility that provides care
for unmarried mothers and their children;
(2) "Community based", when referring to a facility, program
or service, means located near the juvenile's home or family and
involving community participation in planning, operation and
evaluation, and which may include, but is not limited to,
medical, educational, vocational, social and psychological
guidance, training, special education, counseling, alcoholism and
any treatment, and other rehabilitation services;
(3) "Court" means the circuit court of the county with
jurisdiction of the case or the judge of the circuit court in
vacation unless otherwise specifically provided;
(4) "Custodian" means a person who has or shares actual
physical possession or care and custody of a child, regardless of
whether that person has been granted custody of the child by any contract, agreement or legal proceedings;
(5) "Department" or "state department" means the state
department of health and human resources;
(6) "Division of juvenile services" means the division
within the department of military affairs and public safety
pursuant to article five-e of this chapter;
(7) "Guardian" means a person who has care and custody of a
child as a result of any contract, agreement or legal proceeding;
(8) "Juvenile delinquent" means a juvenile who has been
adjudicated as one who commits an act which would be a crime
under state law or a municipal ordinance if committed by an
adult;
(9) "Nonsecure facility" means any public or private
residential facility not characterized by construction fixtures
designed to physically restrict the movements and activities of
individuals held in lawful custody in the facility and which
provides its residents access to the surrounding community with
supervision;
(10) "Referee" means a juvenile referee appointed pursuant
to section one, article five-a of this chapter, except that in
any county which does not have a juvenile referee the judge or
judges of the circuit court may designate one or more magistrates
of the county to perform the functions and duties which may be
performed by a referee under this chapter;
(11) "Secretary" means the secretary of health and human
resources;
(12) "Secure facility" means any public or private
residential facility which includes construction fixtures
designed to physically restrict the movements and activities of
juveniles or other individuals held in lawful custody in the
facility;
(13) "Staff-secure facility" means any public or private
residential facility characterized by staff restrictions of the
movements and activities of individuals held in lawful custody in
the facility and which limits its residents' access to the
surrounding community, but is not characterized by construction
fixtures designed to physically restrict the movements and
activities of residents;
(14) "Status offender" means a juvenile who has been
adjudicated as a person:
(A) Who habitually and continually refuses to respond to the
lawful supervision by his or her parents, guardian or legal
custodian such that the child's behavior substantially endangers
the health, safety, or welfare of the juvenile or any other
person;
(B) Who has left the care of his or her parents, guardian or
custodian without the consent of that person or without good
cause;
(C) Who is habitually absent from school without good cause;
or
(D) Who violates any West Virginia municipal, county or
state law regarding use of alcoholic beverages by minors;
(15) "Valid court order" means a court order given to a
juvenile who was brought before the court and made subject to the
order, and who received, before the issuance of the order, the
full due process rights guaranteed to the juvenile by the
constitutions of the United States and the state of West
Virginia.
ARTICLE 2. STATE RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE PROTECTION AND CARE
OF CHILDREN.
§49-2-1. Care for children committed to the state department.
The state department shall provide care for neglected
children who are committed to its care for custody or
guardianship. For purposes of this chapter, the state department
is responsible for the care of the infant child of an unmarried
mother who has been committed to the custody of the state
department while the infant is placed in the same licensed child
welfare agency as his or her mother. The state department may
provide care for such children in family homes meeting required
standards, at board or otherwise, through a licensed child
welfare agency, or in a state institution providing care for dependent or neglected children. The department in placing any
child in the care of a family or a child welfare agency shall
select as far as practicable a family holding the same religious
belief as the parents or relatives of the child or a child
welfare agency conducted under religious auspices of the same
belief as the parents or relatives.