West Virginia Code 49-4-110 – Foster care; quarterly status review; transitioning adults; annual permanency hearings
(a) For each child who remains in foster care as a result of a juvenile proceeding or as a result of a child abuse and neglect proceeding, the circuit court with the assistance of the multidisciplinary treatment team shall conduct quarterly status reviews in order to determine the safety of the child, the continuing necessity for and appropriateness of the placement, the extent of compliance with the case plan, and the extent of progress which has been made toward alleviating or mitigating the causes necessitating placement in foster care, and to project a likely date by which the child may be returned to and safety maintained in the home or placed for adoption or legal guardianship. Quarterly status reviews shall commence three months after the entry of the placement order. The permanency hearing provided in subsection (c) of this section may be considered a quarterly status review.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 49-4-110
- Adult: means a person who is at least eighteen years of age. See West Virginia Code 49-1-202
- 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
- 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
- Juvenile: means any person under eighteen years of age or is a transitioning adult. See West Virginia Code 49-1-202
- Permanency plan: means the part of the case plan which is designed to achieve a permanent home for the child in the least restrictive setting available. See West Virginia Code 49-1-201
- 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
- Transitioning adult: means an individual with a transfer plan to move to an adult setting who meets one of the following conditions:
(A) Is eighteen years of age but under twenty-one years of age, was in the custody of the Department of Health and Human Resources upon reaching eighteen years of age and committed an act of delinquency before reaching eighteen years of age, remains under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, and requires supervision and care to complete an education and or treatment program which was initiated prior to the eighteenth birthday. See West Virginia Code 49-1-202
(b) For each transitioning adult as that term is defined in section two hundred two, article one of this chapter who remains in foster care, the circuit court shall conduct status review hearings as described in subsection (a) of this section once every three months until permanency is achieved.
(c) For each child or transitioning adult who continues to remain in foster care, the circuit court shall conduct a permanency hearing no later that twelve months after the date the child or transitioning adult is considered to have entered foster care, and at least once every twelve months thereafter until permanency is achieved. For purposes of permanency planning for transitioning adults, the circuit court shall make factual findings and conclusions of law as to whether the department made reasonable efforts to finalize a permanency plan to prepare a transitioning adult for emancipation or independence or another approved permanency option such as, but not limited to, adoption or legal guardianship pursuant to the West Virginia Guardianship and Conservatorship Act.
(d) Nothing in this section may be construed to abrogate the responsibilities of the circuit court from conducting required hearings as provided in other provisions of this code, procedural court rules, or setting required hearings at the same time.