ENROLLED
Senate Bill No. 635
(By Senators Kessler, Snyder, Fanning, Rowe, Ross, Deem, McKenzie, Smith,
White, Harrison, Weeks and Hunter)
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[Passed March 8, 2003; in effect from passage.]
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AN ACT to amend and reenact sections twenty-nine and thirty,
article seven, chapter forty-nine of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
all relating to clarifying that foster care services do not
constitute behavioral health care services; and directing the
West Virginia supreme court of appeals and department of
health and human resources to promulgate court orders for out-
of-home placements.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections twenty-nine and thirty, article seven, chapter
forty-nine of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 7. GENERAL PROVISIONS.
§49-7-29. General provisions relating to court orders regarding
custody; promulgation of rules.
(a) The supreme court of appeals, in consultation with the
department of health and human resources and the division of
juvenile services in order to eliminate unnecessary state funding
of out-of-home placements where federal funding is available, shall
develop and cause to be disseminated no later than the first day of
July, two thousand three, form court orders to effectuate
provisions of chapter forty-nine of this code which authorize
disclosure and transfer of juvenile records between agencies while
requiring maintenance of confidentiality, the provisions of Title
142 U. S. C. Section 620, et seq., and Title 42 U. S. C.
Section 670, et seq., relating to the promulgation of uniform court
orders for placement of minor children and the regulations
promulgated thereunder, for use in the magistrate and circuit
courts of the state.
Circuit judges and magistrates, upon being supplied the
form orders required by the provision of subsection (a) of this
article, shall act to ensure the proper form order is entered in
such case so as to allow federal funding of eligible out-of-home
placements.
§49-7-30. Certificate of need not required.
(a) A certificate of need, as provided for in article two-d,
chapter sixteen of this code, is not required by an entity
proposing behavioral health care facilities or behavioral health
care services for children who are placed out of their home, or who are at imminent risk of being placed out of their home, if a
summary review is performed in accordance with the provisions of
this section.
(b) A summary review of proposed health care facilities or
health care services for children who are placed out of their home,
or who are at imminent risk of being placed out of their home, is
initiated when the proposal is recommended to the health care cost
review authority by the secretary of the department of health and
human resources and the secretary has made the following findings:
(1) That the proposed facility or service is consistent with
the state health plan;
(2) That the proposed facility or service is consistent with
the department's programmatic and fiscal plan for behavioral health
services for children with mental health and addiction disorders;
(3) That the proposed facility or service contributes to
providing services that are child and family driven, with priority
given to keeping children in their own homes;
(4) That the proposed facility or service will contribute to
reducing the number of child placements in out-of-state facilities
by making placements available in in-state facilities;
(5) That the proposed facility or service contributes to
reducing the number of child placements in in-state or out-of-state
facilities by returning children to their families, placing them in
foster care programs or making available school-based and out-patient services; and
(6) If applicable, that the proposed services will be
community-based, locally accessible and provided in an appropriate
setting consistent with the unique needs and potential of each
child and his or her family.
(c) The secretary's findings required by subsection (b) of
this section shall be filed with the secretary's recommendation and
appropriate documentation. If the secretary's findings are
supported by the accompanying documentation, the proposal shall not
require a certificate of need.
(d) Any entity that does not qualify for summary review shall
be subject to certificate of need review.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
contrary, the provision of regular or therapeutic foster care
services does not constitute a behavioral health care facility or
a behavioral health care service that would subject it to the
summary review procedure established in this section or to the
certificate of need requirements provided in article two-d, chapter
sixteen of this code.