West Virginia lawmakers are moving closer toward passage of a bill they say will address longstanding concerns about how the Department of Human Services investigates allegations of child abuse and neglect.
HB 4595 requires the agency to come up with “performance goals” and “outcome measures,” to evaluate how well the system — meant to protect some of the state’s most vulnerable residents — is working.
“A check and balance mechanism is needed,” the bill says.
But buried in the legislation are changes that further shield key information that the press and the public would need to see for themselves how the system is functioning: Reports of injuries or deaths or other problems would be reported to a legislative commission, but records about those concerns would be confidential and the panel could meet in closed-door session to discuss them.
Tomorrow, the bill will be up for passage in the House of Delegates. If approved, it goes to the Senate. The Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and Human Resources Accountability meets throughout the year, with the intention to hold the state’s three health and social services departments accountable.
Del. Heather Tully, R-Nicholas, said through a spokesperson that the bill was meant “to better carry out the purpose of the oversight commission while still respecting the serious privacy concerns that often accompany these kinds of allegations.”
Following a high-profile case of alleged child neglect in Sissonville last year, Del. Amy Summers, R-Taylor, who is head of the commission and co-sponsored the bill, said lawmakers needed more power to learn about cases and hold state officials accountable.
Any referral from the commission would also be kept confidential.
The legislation also covers cases involving abuse of seniors, people with disabilities and hospital patients.
The bill also states that the newly created Department of Health, Department of Health Facilities, and Department of Human Services shall submit annual reports to the commission.
The agencies are required to include program goals, if a goal was not met, why it was not met and include a performance goal plan. The bill also requires each department to specify if a goal was not met because it was “impractical or infeasible” and that the departments include an alternative way to achieve it.
“Stage managers are disadvantaged in their efforts to improve program efficiency and effectiveness because of insufficient articulation of program goals and inadequate information on program performance,” the legislation says.