COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2334
(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss and Delegates Michael, Perdue, Amores,
Brown and Palumbo)
(Originating in the Committee on Finance)
[March 28
, 2005]
A BILL to amend the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §49-7-34, relating to
creating a commission to study the out-of-state placement of
children; providing for members and a chair; providing study
topics; and requiring certain reporting requirements on
specific goals.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding
thereto a new section, designated §49-7-34, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 7. GENERAL PROVISIONS.
§49-7-34. Commission to study the out-of-state placement of
children.
(a)
The Legislature finds that the state's current system of
serving children and families in need of or at risk of needing
social, emotional and behavioral health services is fragmented.
The existing categorical structure of government programs and their
funding streams discourages collaboration, resulting in duplication of efforts and a waste of limited resources. Children are usually
involved in multiple child-serving systems, including child
welfare, juvenile justice and special education. More than ten
percent of children who are in care are in out-of-state placements.
Earlier efforts at reform have focused on quick fixes for
individual components of the system at the expense of all others.
It is the purpose of this section to establish a mechanism by which
the state agencies involved in the placement of at risk youth
continually study and improve this system making recommendations to
their respective agencies as well as to the Legislature.
(b) There is hereby created within the Department of Health
and Human Resources the Commission to Study the Out-of-state
Placement of Children. The Commission is to consist of the
Secretary of the Department of Heath and Human Resources, the
Commissioner of the Bureau for Children and Families, the State
Superintendent of Schools, the Director of the Office of
Institutional Educational Programs, the Director of the Office of
Special Education Programs and Assurance and the Director of the
Division of Juvenile Services.
At the discretion of the West
Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, circuit and family court judges
and other court personnel, including the administrator of the
Supreme Court of Appeals, may serve on the Commission. The named
members of the Commission may designate other persons in their
respective offices who may also attend the meetings of the
Commission if those designated are the head of the office or division whose functions necessitate their inclusion in the
process.
(b) The Secretary of the Department of Health and Human
Resources is to serve as chair of the Commission.
(c) The Commission is to meet at least monthly at the call of
the Chair. The Chair or his or her designee is to report monthly
on the work of the Commission to the designated legislative task
force for juvenile oversight during the monthly interim meetings.
(d) The Commission is to study at a minimum the following:
(1) The adequacy of existing in-state facilities and their
programming in serving the needs of children who are subject to a
court order requiring their removal from their home;
(2) The capacity of existing in-state facilities and their
programming in serving the needs of children who are subject to a
court order requiring their removal from their home;
(3) The availability of placements in existing in-state
facilities with appropriate levels of treatment;
(4) Methods in which availability of placements in existing
in-state facilities with appropriate levels of treatment or
programs is made readily available and instantaneous to state
agency and court personnel, including an interactive secure
website;
(5) Methods which promote appropriate cooperation between the courts, state agencies, in-state providers of child care and
children and families of children who are subject to a court order
requiring their removal from their home;
(6) Methods to encourage utilization of in-state child-care
facilities;
(7) The appropriateness of the implementation of a policy of
"no refusal" requiring all in-state providers to accept any child
who requires the level of treatment for which their facility is
licensed if there is an available placement and provided the
facility has the necessary programs available;
(8) Methods of certifying out-of-state providers;
(9) What, if any, programs or treatment services are currently
unavailable or inadequately provided in this state and the
economic feasibility of providing such services in this state,
including possible methods of funding; and
(10) Methods to use the funding provided for the treatment and
education of children in the custody of the state to best serve
those children in an efficient and economical manner.
(e) The Commission shall report to the Joint Commission on
Government and Finance by the first day of January, two thousand
six, on its progress toward the following goals:
(1) The implementation of an instantaneous method of
ascertaining by state agency and court personnel the availability of appropriate in-state placements for children of all levels of
treatment and with specific programming needs;
(2) The implementation of a "no-refusal" policy for in-state
providers of services;
(3) The encouragement of and full utilization of placements
available in in-state facilities; and
(4) The implementation of services determined by the
Commission to be currently lacking in in-state facilities that are
resulting in the out-of-state placement of children: Provided,
That such services can be provided in an economical manner.