ENROLLED
REVISED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 498
(Senators Kessler and Chafin, original sponsors)
____________
[Passed March 13, 2010; in effect ninety days from passage.]
____________
AN ACT to amend and reenact §9-6-1 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to amending the civil definition of
"neglect" by making it congruent with the definition of
"criminal neglect"; replacing the term "mentally retarded"
with "individuals with an intellectual disability"; and
providing a definition for "caregiver".
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §9-6-1 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be
amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 6. SOCIAL SERVICES FOR ADULTS.
§9-6-1. Definitions.
As used in this article:
(1) "Adult protective services agency" means any public or
nonprofit private agency, corporation, board or organization furnishing protective services to adults;
(2) "Abuse" means the infliction or threat to inflict physical
pain or injury on or the imprisonment of any incapacitated adult or
facility resident;
(3) "Neglect" means:
(A) The unreasonable failure by a caregiver to provide the
care necessary to assure the physical safety or health of an
incapacitated adult; or
(B) The unlawful expenditure or willful dissipation of the
funds or other assets owned or paid to or for the benefit of an
incapacitated adult or resident;
(4) "Incapacitated adult" means any person who by reason of
physical, mental or other infirmity is unable to independently
carry on the daily activities of life necessary to sustaining life
and reasonable health;
(5) "Emergency" or "emergency situation" means a situation or
set of circumstances which presents a substantial and immediate
risk of death or serious injury to an incapacitated adult;
(6) "Legal representative" means a person lawfully invested
with the power and charged with the duty of taking care of another
person or with managing the property and rights of another person,
including, but not limited to, a guardian, conservator, medical
power of attorney representative, trustee or other duly appointed
person;
(7) "Nursing home" or "facility" means any institution, residence, intermediate care facility for individuals with an
intellectual disability, care home or any other adult residential
facility, or any part or unit thereof, that is subject to the
provisions of articles five-c, five-d, five-e or five-h, chapter
sixteen of this code;
(8) "Regional long-term care ombudsman" means any paid staff
of a designated regional long-term care ombudsman program who has
obtained appropriate certification from the Bureau for Senior
Services and meets the qualifications set forth in section seven,
article five-l, chapter sixteen of this code;
(9) "Facility resident" means an individual living in a
nursing home or other facility, as that term is defined in
subdivision (7) of this section;
(10) "Responsible family member" means a member of a
resident's family who has undertaken primary responsibility for the
care of the resident and who has established a working relationship
with the nursing home or other facility in which the resident
resides. For purposes of this article, a responsible family member
may include someone other than the resident's legal representative;
(11) "State Long-term Care Ombudsman" means an individual who
meets the qualifications of section five, article five-l, chapter
sixteen of this code and who is employed by the State Bureau for
Senior Services to implement the State Long-term Care Ombudsman
Program;
(12) "Secretary" means the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Resources.
(13)'Caregiver' means a person or entity who cares for or
shares in the responsibility for the care of an incapacitated adult
on a full-time or temporary basis, regardless of whether such
person or entity has been designated as a guardian or custodian of
the incapacitated adult by any contract, agreement or legal
procedures. Caregiver includes health care providers, family
members, and any person who otherwise voluntarily accepts a
supervisory role towards an incapacitated adult.
Email
Webmaster | © 2024 West Virginia Legislature **
