HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 5
(By Delegates Mahan, Fleischauer, Brown, Eldridge, Ennis, Ashley,
Rowan and Schadler)
(Introduced February 17, 2009.)
Requesting the Joint Committee on Government and Finance study,
safety issues surrounding the delivery of services that occur
during home visits conducted by employees and contractors of
the Department of Health and Human Resources in the state of
West Virginia.
Whereas, delivery of in-home services by employees and
contractors of the Department of Health and Human Resources is
vital in many instances to the preservation of family units to
develop a safe and secure home environment for children and their
families; and
Whereas, the persons who provide home visits are dedicated and
caring individuals that strive to ensure that families in need
receive high quality care to empower these families to become well
balanced and cohesive; and
Whereas, in many instances in the performance of the duties
necessary for a home visit, these individuals put their own personal safety at risk; and
Whereas, on July 30, 2008, Brenda Yeager a contract employee of
the Department of Health and Human Resources, made such a home
visit and was brutally attacked and murdered raising the awareness
of the need to provide more effective personal safety of
individuals involved in this type of work; and
Whereas, safety concerns for employees and contractors of the
Department of Health and Human Resources should be studied to gain
a full understanding of the scope of these home visits, and to
identify safety issues and develop possible solutions; therefore,
be it
Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Joint Committee on Government and Finance is hereby
requested to study the issue of the safety of individuals, both
those who are employees of the State and those under contract to
the State, who provide home visits to families in West Virginia;
and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Joint Committee on Government and
Finance, seek input from the Department of Health and Human
Resources and from private agency providers on safety concerns and
considerations; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Joint Committee on Government and
Finance report to the Legislature, on the first day of the regular
session, two thousand ten, on its findings, conclusions and recommendations together with drafts of any legislation to
effectuate its recommendations; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the expenses necessary to conduct this
study, to prepare a report and to draft necessary legislation be
paid from legislative appropriations to the Joint Committee on
Government and Finance.
This resolution was recommenced for
introduction and passage
by Select Committee A - Committee on Children, Juveniles and Other
Issues.