West Virginia Code 49-4-106 – Limitation on out-of-home placements
Before any child may be directed for placement in a particular facility or for services of a child welfare agency licensed by the department, a court shall make inquiry into the bed space of the facility available to accommodate additional children and the ability of the child welfare agency to meet the particular needs of the child. A court may not order the placement of a child in a particular facility, including status offender facilities operated by the Division of Juvenile Services, if it has reached its licensed capacity or order conditions on the placement of the child which conflict with licensure regulations applicable to the facility promulgated pursuant to article two of this chapter and articles one-a, nine and seventeen, chapter twenty-seven of this code. Further, a child welfare agency is not required to accept placement of a child at a particular facility if the facility remains at licensed capacity or is unable to meet the particular needs of the child. A child welfare agency is not required to make special dispensation or accommodation, reorganize existing child placement, or initiate early release of children in placement to reduce actual occupancy at the facility.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 49-4-106
- 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 welfare agency: means any agency or facility maintained by the state or any county or municipality thereof, 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, without limitation, private homes or any facility that provides care for unmarried mothers and their children. See West Virginia Code 49-1-206
- Court: means the circuit court of the county with jurisdiction of the case or the judge in vacation unless otherwise specifically provided. See West Virginia Code 49-1-207
- Facility: means 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. See West Virginia Code 49-1-206
- Juvenile: means any person under eighteen years of age or is a transitioning adult. See West Virginia Code 49-1-202
- 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
- Status offender: means a juvenile who has been adjudicated as one:
(A) Who habitually and continually refuses to respond to the lawful supervision by his or her parents, guardian or legal custodian such that the juvenile'. See West Virginia Code 49-1-202