West Virginia Legislature

2016 Regular Session

Introduced

House Bill 2436

2015 Carryover

(By Delegates P. Smith, Perry, Hartman, Rodighiero, Trescost, Eldridge, Campbell, Lynch, and Longstreth)

 

[Introduced January 13, 2016; referred to the

Committee on Health and Human Resources then Finance.]

 

 

A BILL to amend and reenact §49-6-1a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to increasing the number of child protective service workers at the Department of Health and Human Resources.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That §49-6-1a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:

ARTICLE 6.  PROCEDURE IN CASES OF CHILD NEGLECT OR ABUSE.

§49-6-1a.  Minimum staffing complement for child protective services.

For the sole purpose of increasing On or before June 30, 2016, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Resources shall increase the number of full-time front line child protective service case workers and investigators by twenty percent in each regional office. The Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Resources shall have the authority to may transfer funds between all general revenue accounts under the secretary's authority and/or between personnel and nonpersonnel lines within each account under the secretary's authority.  Provided, That nothing in this section shall be construed to require the department to  hire additional child protective service workers at any time if the department determines that funds are not available for such workers. Additionally, the secretary shall prepare a plan to allow the department to progressively reduce caseload standards in West Virginia for child protective services workers, which if adopted by the Legislature during the 1995 regular session, shall require implementation no later than July 1, 1996, with said plan to be submitted to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance by September 30, 1994, and a final report to be submitted to the Legislature by January 1, 1995.  The secretary shall revise the department=s plan for progressively reducing caseload standards in West Virginia for child protective services workers in order to further reduce caseloads.  The secretary shall submit the revised plan to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance by September, 2015, and a final report shall be submitted to the Legislature by January 1, 2016.  If this revised plan is adopted by the Legislature during the 2016 regular session, the secretary shall implement the plan no later than July 1, 2017.

 

 

 

NOTE:  The purpose of this bill is to increase the number of child protective service workers and to reduce the caseloads of child protective service workers.

 

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.