ENGROSSED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 479
(By Senators Walker, Bailey, Fanning and Kessler)
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[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;
reported March 2, 1999.]
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A BILL to amend article one, chapter forty-nine of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
five, relating to limiting judicial imposition to require
acceptance of children by child welfare agencies in excess
of the facility's licensed capacity; authorizing facilities
to refuse a child under certain circumstances; and
authorizing facilities to decline to make accommodations
when at capacity.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article one, chapter forty-nine of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section five,
to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. PURPOSES; DEFINITIONS.
§49-1-5. Limitation on out of home placement.
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 welfare agency to meet the
particular needs of the child. A court shall not order the
placement of a child in a particular facility if it has reached
its licensed capacity. Further, a child welfare agency is not
required to accept placement of a child at a particular facility
if the facility remains at licensed capacity or is unable to meet
the particular needs of the child. A child welfare agency is not
required to make special dispensation or accommodation,
reorganize existing child placement, or initiate early release of
children in placement to reduce actual occupancy at the facility.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to prevent the issuance
of contempt orders for the refusal of a child welfare agency to
accept placement of a child when the facility has reached its
licensed capacity to accept children.
Section five is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.)