Signed by Governor Jim Justice, Jr.

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to concur with senate amendments and pass a bill that amends the state foster care system.

Highlights:

• Requires the secretary to transition foster children living in the state to a capitated Medicaid program by January 1, 2020 (Ch. 9, Article 5).

• Requires any selected managed care organization that does not contract with the Department of Health and Human Services to provide Medicaid managed care services, to provide all patient records to the next selected managed care organization to ensure there is no interruption in care (Ch. 9, Article 5).

• Requires the Department to annually report and evaluate the transition to managed care, with the initial report submitted by July 1, 2021, and the final report by July 1, 2023 (Ch. 9, Article 5).

• Requires the Office of the Inspector General to establish the position of an independent foster care ombudsman, which will be assigned to someone with experience as a foster parent or experience in child welfare (Ch. 9, Article 5).

• Prohibits any employee that has participated in the development of a contract pursuant to the previous highlights, from being employed by an agency or company that has or will benefit from said contract for a period of 2 years thereafter (Ch. 9, Article 5).

• Requires any contracted managed care company to have at least 80 percent of the total full-time equivalent positions assigned to manage care of foster children (Ch. 9, Article 5).

• Requires the Department to establish minimum standards for foster-home care which must be followed by all certified foster homes (Ch. 49, Article 2).

• Requires the Department, no later than December 1, 2020, to enter into performance-based contracts with child-placing agencies (Ch. 49, Article 2).

• Requires the Department to conduct a study and make recommendations for improving the services given to kinship foster care families, and the results must be provided to the legislature by October 1, 2019 (Ch. 49, Article 2).

• Requires any individual, corporation, or child welfare agency, other than a state agency, that has a residential child-care center, to obtain a license from the Department (Ch. 49, Article 2).

• Requires all facilities or programs providing out-of-school care to register with the Department on an annual basis (Ch. 49, Article 2).

• Requires the Department of Health and Human Resources to gather a multidisciplinary treatment team and conduct an assessment for any foster juvenile adjudicated as a status offender, adjudicated as a delinquent, adjudicated and committed to the custody of the Director of the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation, or has been granted a pre-adjudicatory community supervision period, after which the team will prepare and carry out a comprehensive, individualized service plan for the juvenile (Ch. 49, Article 4).

• Requires the Department, in the case of a child found by the court to be abused or neglected, to file with the court a copy of the child’s case plan, which will include the child’s permanency plan (Ch. 49, Article 4).

• Defines “permanency plan” as the part of the case plan which is designed to achieve a permanent home for the child in the least restrictive setting available (Ch. 49, Article 4).

• Authorizes the court to give consideration to children 14 years or older, or otherwise of an age of discretion determined by the court, concerning the permanent termination of parental rights (Ch. 49, Article 4).

• Authorizes the court to provide the parents or custodians of the abused or neglected child an improvement period, no longer than 6 months, as an alternative disposition, after which the court will determine whether the relevant conditions have improved (Ch. 49, Article 4).

• Prohibits the court from terminating the parental rights of a parent only on the basis that the parent is engaging in a medication-assisted treatment program for substance use disorder (Ch. 49, Article 4).

• Prohibits the court from ordering a child to be placed in an out-of-state facility unless (Ch. 49, Article 4):

• The child is diagnosed with a health issue that an in-state facility or program cannot provide;

• A placement out of state is closer to the child’s family for the necessary care; or

• The treatment services can be provided in a more timely fashion.

• Requires the court, after concluding the hearing, in accordance with the best interests of the child, to enter an order containing the following findings (Ch. 49, Article 4):

• If the department made reasonable efforts to preserve the family and to prevent out-of-home placement, or that the specific situation made the effort unreasonable;

• If the department made reasonable efforts to finalize the permanency plan and concurrent plan for the child;

• The appropriateness of the child’s current placement;

• The appropriateness of the current educational setting and the school’s proximity;

• Services needed to meet the child’s needs and achieve permanency; and

• When the child has another planned permanent living arrangement that is the permanency plan, the court will:

• Ask the child about the desired permanency outcome;

• Make a judicial determination explaining why another planned permanent living arrangement is the best permanency plan; and

• Give compelling reasons for why it continues to not be in the best interest of the child to return home, be placed for adoption, be placed with a legal guardian, or be placed with a fit and willing relative.

• Defines “child welfare agency” as any agency or facility maintained by the state, a county, municipality, or any agency or facility maintained by an individual, firm, corporation, association, or organization, public or private, to receive children for care and maintenance or for placement in residential care facilities, including private homes, or any facility that provides care for unmarried mothers and their children (Ch. 49, Article 1).

• Defines “facility” as a place or residence, including personnel, structures, grounds, and equipment used for the care of a child or children on a residential or other basis, for any number of hours a day in any shelter or structure maintained for that purpose (Ch. 49, Article 1).

• Defines “needs assessment” as an evidence-informed assessment that identifies the needs a child or family has, which, if left unaddressed, will likely increase the chance of recurring (Ch. 49, Article 1).

• Defines “out-of-home placement” as a post-adjudication placement in a foster family home, group home, non-secure facility, emergency shelter, hospital, psychiatric residential treatment facility, staff secure facility, hardware secure facility, detention facility, or other residential placement other than placement in the home of a parent, custodian, or guardian (Ch. 49, Article 1).

• Defines “pre-adjudicatory community supervision” as supervision provided to a youth prior to adjudication, for a period of supervision up to 1 year for an alleged status or delinquency offense (Ch. 49, Article 1).

• Defines “risk and needs assessment” as a validated, standardized actuarial tool which identifies specific risk factors that increase the likelihood of reoffending and the factors that, when properly addressed, can reduce the likelihood of reoffending (Ch. 49, Article 1).

Full Bill Text