H. B. 3183
(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss, and Delegates Amores,
Mezzatesta and Faircloth)
[Introduced February 21, 2003; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section five-b, article six, chapter
forty-nine of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to procedures in
child neglect and abuse cases; and clarifying procedures when
a child is born to a parent whose parental rights were
previously terminated.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section five-b, article six, 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 6. PROCEDURE IN CASES OF CHILD NEGLECT OR ABUSE.
§49-6-5b. When efforts to terminate parental rights required.
(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the
department shall file or join in a petition or otherwise seek a
ruling in any pending proceeding to terminate parental rights:
(1) If a child has been in foster care for fifteen of the most
recent twenty-two months as determined by the earlier of the date
of the first judicial finding that the child is subjected to abuse
or neglect or the date which is sixty days after the child is
removed from the home;
(2) If a court has determined the child is abandoned; or
(3) If a court has determined the parent has committed murder
or voluntary manslaughter of another of his or her children; has
attempted or conspired to commit such murder or voluntary
manslaughter or has been an accessory before or after the fact of
either crime; has committed unlawful or malicious wounding
resulting in serious bodily injury to the child or to another of
his or her children; or the parental rights of the parent to a
sibling have been terminated involuntarily.
(4) If a child is born to a parent who has had parental rights
to a previous child terminated.
(b) The department may determine not to file a petition to
terminate parental rights when:
(1) At the option of the department, the child has been placed
with a relative;
(2) The department has documented in the case plan made
available for court review a compelling reason, including, but not
limited to, the child's age and preference regarding termination or
the child's placement in custody of the department based on any proceedings initiated under article five of this chapter, that
filing the petition would not be in the best interests of the
child; or
(3) The department has not provided, when reasonable efforts
to return a child to the family are required, the services to the
child's family as the department deems necessary for the safe
return of the child to the home.
In the case of a petition filed as a result of a child born to
a parent who has had parental rights to a previous child
terminated, the court shall terminate parental rights to that child
without an additional showing of abuse or neglect to the after-born
child, unless the parent by clear and convincing evidence shows
that the circumstances giving rise to the earlier termination of
parental rights have been alleviated.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to clarify procedures in
child neglect and abuse cases when a child is born to a parent
whose rights were previously terminated.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be removed from
current law; and underlining indicates new language which would be
added.