Bill Text: WV HB2620 | 2021 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Relating to a departmental study of the child protective services and foster care workforce
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-04-10 - On 1st reading, House Calendar [HB2620 Detail]
Download: West_Virginia-2021-HB2620-Comm_Sub.html
WEST virginia legislature
2021 regular session
Committee Substitute
for
House Bill 2620
By Delegates J. Pack
and Rohrbach
(By Request of the Department of Health and Human Resources)
[Originating in the Committee on Health and Human Resources; Reported on February 23, 2021]
A BILL to amend and reenact §49-2-111b of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to requiring the Department of Health and Human Resources to conduct a study; requiring the department to evaluate its child protective services; requiring the department to evaluate its foster care workforce; requiring the report to be submitted to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and Human Resources Accountability.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
Article 2. state responsibilities for children
§49-2-111b. Study of the Department's child protective services and foster care workforce.
(a) The department shall conduct a study and make
recommendations for improving services provided for kinship foster care
families. This study shall include at a minimum:
(1) A review of best practices in other states;
(2) A proposal for an alternate system of regulation
for kinship foster care that includes the same reimbursement as other foster
care families as well as a reasonable time period for obtaining certification;
(3) An evaluation of what training and supports are
needed to ensure that kinship care homes are successful.
(b) The results of this shall be shared with all
members of the Legislature by October 1, 2019.
(a) The department shall conduct a study and make recommendations for ensuring a healthy departmental child protective services and foster care workforce. This study shall include at a minimum:
(1) An evaluation of the workload for caseworkers to ensure caseworkers have manageable workloads to achieve positive outcomes for the children and families they serve;
(2) A determination of whether factors such as child population and poverty rate should be incorporated into the analysis for allocating caseworkers across the state;
(3) A survey of the salaries and benefits of caseworkers in neighboring states;
(4) A cost estimate for proposed recommendations;
(5) Survey data of the experiences, opinions and recommendations of current and former frontline child welfare workers and supervisors regarding workplace satisfaction, workplace safety, workforce recruitment and retention, and system and service delivery improvements; and
(6) Input solicited from a variety of partnering agencies, organizations, associations and groups, including affected individuals and former clients.
(b) The results of this study and recommendations based upon the findings shall be reported to the Governor and Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and Human Resources Accountability by July 1, 2022.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to is to provide for a departmental study of the child protective services and foster care workforce.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
