§ 49-6-114 — Powers and duties of clearinghouse advisory council; comprehensive strategic plan required to be provided to the Legislature

West Virginia § 49-6-114

• Jurisdiction: West Virginia
• Ch. 49: CHILD WELFARE
• Art. 6: MISSING CHILDREN INFORMATION ACT

Text

The council shall prepare a comprehensive strategic plan and recommendation of programs in furtherance thereof that will support efforts to prevent the abduction, runaway and exploitation, or any thereof, of children to locate missing children, advise the West Virginia State Police regarding operation of the clearinghouse and its other responsibilities under this article, and cooperate with and coordinate the efforts of state agencies and private organizations involved with issues relating to missing or exploited children. The council may seek public and private grants, contracts, matching funds, and procurement arrangements from the state and federal government, private industry, and other agencies in furtherance of its mission and programs. An initial comprehensive strategic plan that will support and foster efforts to prevent the abduction, runaway, and exploitation of children, and to locate missing children, shall be developed and provided to the Governor, the Speaker of the House of Delegates, and the President of the Senate no later than July 1, 2020, and shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

(1) Findings and determinations regarding the extent of the problem in this state related to: (A) Abducted children; (B) missing children; (C) exploited children; and (D) missing and endangered children.

(2) Findings and determinations identifying the systems, both public and private, existing in the state to prevent the abduction, runaway, or exploitation of children, and to locate missing children, and assessing the strengths and weaknesses of those systems and the clearinghouse;

(3) The inclusion of exploited children within the functions of the clearinghouse. For purposes of this article, an exploited child is a person under the age of 18 years who has been: (A) Used in the production of pornography; (B) subjected to sexual exploitation or sexual offenses under §61-8B-1et seq.of this code; or (C) employed or exhibited in any injurious, immoral, or dangerous business or occupation in violation of §§61-8-5 through 61-8-8 of this code;

(4) Recommendations of legislative changes required to improve the effectiveness of the clearinghouse and other efforts to prevent abduction, runaway, or exploitation of children, and to locate missing children. Those recommendations shall consider the following:

(A) Interaction of the clearinghouse with child custody proceedings;

(B) Involvement of hospitals, child care centers, and other private agencies in efforts to prevent child abduction, runaway, or exploitation, and to locate missing children;

(C) Publication of a directory of and periodic reports regarding missing children;

(D) Required reporting by public and private agencies and penalties for failure to report and false reporting;

(E) Removal of names from the list of missing children;

(F) Creating of an advocate for missing and exploited children;

(G) State funding for the clearinghouse and efforts to prevent the abduction, runaway, and exploitation of children, and to locate missing children;

(H) Mandated involvement of state agencies, such as publication of information regarding missing children in existing state publications and coordination with the state registrar of vital statistics under §§16-5-12 of this code; and

(I) Expanded requirement for boards of education to notify the clearinghouse in addition to local law-enforcement agencies under §18-2-5c of this code or if a birth certificate or school record received appears to be inaccurate or fraudulent and to receive clearinghouse approval before releasing records;

(5) Methods that will coordinate and engender collaborative efforts among organizations throughout the state, whether public or private, involved with missing or exploited children;

(6) Plans for the use of technology in the clearinghouse and other efforts related to missing or exploited children;

(7) Compliance of the clearinghouse, state law, and all rules promulgated pursuant thereto with applicable federal law so as to enhance opportunities for receiving federal grants;

(8) Consultation with the state board of education and other agencies responsible for promulgating rules under this article;

(9) Possible methods for identifying missing children prior to enrollment in a public or nonpublic school;

(10) The feasibility and effectiveness of utilizing the federal parent locator service in locating missing children; and

(11) Programs for voluntary fingerprinting.

Legislative History

2020 Reg. Sess., HB4415; 2015 Reg. Sess., HB2200