Senate Bill No. 451
(By Senators Kessler and Unger)
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[Introduced February 3, 2010; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §49-2-17 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to the establishment of a system of
assistance from funds appropriated to the Department of Health
and Human Resources for facilitating the adoption or legal
guardianship of children who are dependents of the department
or a child welfare agency licensed to place children for
adoption.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §49-2-17 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. STATE RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE PROTECTION AND CARE OF
CHILDREN.
§49-2-17. Subsidized adoption and legal guardianship.
(a) The Secretary of the Department of Health and Human
Resources shall establish an adoption subsidy and legal guardianship subsidy to facilitate the adoption or legal guardianship of
children. The subsidies shall be from funds appropriated to the
department and available for children who are legally free for
adoption but are dependents of the department or child welfare
agency licensed to place children for adoption. A subsidy for legal
guardianship may not require surrender or termination of parental
rights.
(b) To be eligible for either the adoption subsidy or the legal
guardianship subsidy, adoption or legal guardianship placement must
be more difficult due to:
(1) The physical or mental disability of the child;
(2) An emotional disturbance of child;
(3) The age of the child;
(4) The child being part of a sibling group; or
(5) The race or ethnicity of the child.
(c) An adoption or legal guardianship subsidy shall be granted
to parents who have been approved for either adoption or legal
guardianship of an eligible child as set forth in subsection (b) of
this section. An adoption subsidy or legal guardianship subsidy is
contingent upon the execution of a written agreement between the
department and the family. The agreement shall specify the terms of
the subsidy and include the extent of the subsidy based upon the
child's needs and other available resources to meet the child's needs.
The agreement shall also state whether the subsidy is for special services or money payments, specify the duration of the subsidy and
set forth other necessary financial terms. The subsidy shall not
exceed the allowable time for a child under foster family care. If
the agreement specifies that the subsidy is for special services, it
shall be limited to a reasonable fee for such services. No agreement
shall provide services or assistance in a value in excess of
assistance available to foster care families in similar situations.
An adoption or legal guardianship subsidy shall begin with the
placement of an eligible child for adoption or legal guardianship.
(d) The department shall provide services through the Bureau for
Medical Services or other health insurance coverage for any child for
which the department has determined that an agreement has been
executed as specified in subsection (c) of this section and has
determined that the child cannot be placed without medical assistance
due to special medical, mental health or rehabilitative needs of the
child.
(e) (1) After all reasonable efforts have been made without the
use of a subsidy and no appropriate adoptive family or legal guardian
has been found for the child, the department shall certify the child
as eligible for a subsidy. Reasonable efforts to place a child
without a subsidy are not required if it is in the best interest of
the child to remain with the prospective adoptive parent or legal
guardian due to factors such as the existence of significant emotional
ties between the child and the prospective adoptive parent or legal guardian.
(2) If the child is the dependent of a voluntary licensed child-
placing agency, that agency shall present evidence to the department
of their inability to place the child for adoption or legal
guardianship without the use of a subsidy or present evidence that
those efforts would not be in the best interest of the child.
(f) All records regarding subsidized adoptions or legal
guardianships are confidential. Records regarding the payment of
public funds for subsidized adoptions or legal guardianships shall be
available for public inspection if they do not directly or indirectly
identify any child or person receiving funds for the child.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide conformity of state
statute with the federal Adoption and Safe Families Act. The bill
more clearly defines the circumstances under which adoption or legal
guardianship subsidies are available.
This section has been completely rewritten, therefore, strike-
throughs and underscoring have been omitted.