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Introduced Version Senate Bill 498 History

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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
Senate Bill No. 498

(By Senators Kessler and Chafin)

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[Introduced February 5, 2010; referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.]

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A BILL 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".

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.
The following words and terms, when As used in this article: shall have the same meaning hereinafter ascribed to them unless the context clearly indicates a different meaning
(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 failure to provide the necessities of life to an incapacitated adult or facility resident with intent to coerce or physically harm the incapacitated adult or resident; and 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 the mentally retarded, 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.


NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to amend the civil definition of neglect by making it congruent with the definition of
criminal neglect as defined in W. Va. Code §61-2-29.


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