West Virginia Code 49-2-301 – Findings and intent; advisory council
(a) The Legislature finds that:
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 49-2-301
- Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
- child: means an individual who meets one of the following conditions:
(A) Is under thirteen years of age. See West Virginia Code 49-1-202
- Child care: means responsibilities assumed and services performed in relation to a child's physical, emotional, psychological, social, and personal needs and the consideration of the child's rights and entitlements, but does not include secure detention or incarceration under the jurisdiction of the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation pursuant to §. See West Virginia Code 49-1-206
- Placement: means any temporary or permanent placement of a child who is in the custody of the state in any foster home, kinship parent home, group home, or other facility or residence. See West Virginia Code 49-1-206
- Rule: means legislative rules promulgated by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Resources or a statement issued by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Resources of the standards to be applied in the various areas of child care. See West Virginia Code 49-1-203
- Secretary: means the Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources. See West Virginia Code 49-1-208
(1) High quality early childhood development substantially improves the intellectual and social potential of children and reduces societal costs;
(2) A child care program quality rating and improvement system provides incentives and resources to improve the quality child care programs; and
(3) A child care program quality rating and improvement system provides information about the quality of child care programs to parents so they may make more informed decisions about the placement of their children.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to require the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Resources promulgate a legislative rule and establish a plan for the phased implementation of a child care program quality rating and improvement system not inconsistent with the provisions of this article.
(c) The Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Resources shall create a Quality Rating and Improvement System Advisory Council to provide advice on the development of the rule and plan for the phased implementation of a child care program quality rating and improvement system and the ongoing program review and policies for quality improvement. The secretary shall facilitate meetings of the advisory council. The advisory council shall include representatives from the provider community, advocacy groups, the Legislature, providers of professional development services for the early childhood community, regulatory agencies and others who may be impacted by the creation of a quality rating and improvement system.
(d) Nothing in this article requires an appropriation, or any specific level of appropriation, by the Legislature.