Senate Bill No. 654
(By Senators Love and Ross)
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[Introduced February 22, 1999; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend article seven, 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
thirty-three, relating to establishing a one-year pilot
program under the auspices of the department of health and
human resources for the elimination of adoption backlog and
the backlog of incomplete case records of children in foster
care; and securing federal funding where available to
support the program.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article seven, 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
thirty-three, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 7. GENERAL PROVISIONS.
§49-7-33. Pilot program to augment the number of adoptions; and
to streamline the foster care services program.
(a) Within ninety days of the effective date of this
section, the department of health and human resources shall issue
a request for proposal from qualified persons for the purpose of
awarding one or more one-year contracts, renewable upon
continuance of this pilot program.
The pilot program established pursuant to this section is
for the following purposes:
(1) To develop and implement a plan to eliminate the backlog
of children waiting for adoption, including provisions for
completing home study investigations and analyses of prospective
adoptive parents; and
(2) To develop and implement a plan to eliminate the backlog
of incomplete case records of children in foster care, taking all
necessary steps to complete each foster care case record by
obtaining, developing and completing necessary documentation,
including, but not limited to, obtaining applicable court orders, completing proper forms for reimbursement of federal Title IV-E
funding, and performing necessary acts to ensure proper
documentation and completion of forms to secure additional
federal funding for which the state may be eligible for
reimbursement.
All contract proposals shall address each criteria of the
pilot project purposes.
(b) In addition to providing information as to how the
specific goals in subsection (a) may be met, the proposal
submitted to department shall specify that the qualified person
or persons awarded the contract or contracts shall:
(1) Provide a comprehensive review of department files,
background investigation and research concerning the child,
parents and immediate family, as appropriate, through personal
interviews, the use of assessment and evaluation tools, home
visits and other appropriate methods;
(2) Compile all data and information accumulated during
investigation, and audit the information for accuracy,
verification and authentication by the qualified vendor,
including, if applicable, obtaining initial petition custody, signed court orders granting custody of the child to the state,
or voluntary placement agreements, and properly formatting the
data and information to secure federal reimbursement;
(3) Assemble verified information in preparation of working
papers, catalogued and recorded in hard copy and electronic
formats, and preparation and submission of a report to the
department;
(4) Provide professional, independent recommendation for the
disposition of cases, and as appropriate, provide expert
testimony to support the recommendations; and
(5) Provide staff for follow-up reports on individual cases
at predetermined intervals, as required by court order, state law
or client request, subject to available funds.
(c) For purposes of this section, the term "qualified
person" means an individual, corporation, firm, organization,
partnership or other business entity authorized to do business in
this state, and possessing the following additional
qualifications:
(1) Licensed, certified family and social work expert or
experts;
(2) Experienced in developing individual adoption and
custody case files;
(3) Experienced in providing expert testimony in adoption
and custody cases; and
(4) Experienced in preparing appropriate forms for federal
reimbursement.
(d) The department of health and human resources shall
submit a report on this one-year pilot program to the governor,
the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of
delegates documenting the progress and successes of the pilot
program authorized by this section. The report shall include,
but not be limited to, any increase in the number of children
adopted and placed in foster care, any increase in federal
funding secured through the pilot program and any elimination of
backlog of cases and requests for reimbursement as a result of
the pilot program. The report will be submitted on or before the
first day of January, two thousand one.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to establish a one-year
pilot program under the auspices of the department of health and human resources for the elimination of adoption backlog and the
backlog of incomplete case records of children in foster care;
and securing federal funding where available to support the
program. The one-year program would be developed through the
hiring of a independent contractor or contractors. The bill
requires the department to make a report to the legislature and
the governor on the success of the program on or before January
1, 2001.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.