West Virginia Code 49-2-101 – Authorization and responsibility; Bureau for Social Services
(a) The Bureau for Social Services is continued within the department. The bureau is under the immediate supervision of a commissioner.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 49-2-101
- 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
- Custodian: means a person who has or shares actual physical possession or care and custody of a child, regardless of whether that person has been granted custody of the child by any contract or agreement. See West Virginia Code 49-1-204
- Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Law-enforcement officer: means a law-enforcement officer of the State Police, a municipality or county sheriff'. See West Virginia Code 49-1-208
- Parent: means an individual defined as a parent by law or on the basis of a biological relationship, marriage to a person with a biological relationship, legal adoption or other recognized grounds. See West Virginia Code 49-1-204
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
(b) The Bureau for Social Services is authorized to provide care, support, and protective services for children who are handicapped by dependency, neglect, single parent status, mental or physical disability, or who for other reasons are in need of public service. The bureau is also authorized to accept children for care from their parent or parents, guardian, custodian, or relatives, and to accept the custody of children committed to its care by courts. The bureau or any county office of the department is also authorized to accept temporary custody of children for care from any law-enforcement officer in an emergency situation.
(c) The bureau is responsible for the care of the infant child of an unmarried mother who has been committed to the custody of the department while the infant is placed in the same licensed child welfare agency as his or her mother. The bureau provides care for those children in family homes meeting required standards, at board or otherwise, through a licensed child welfare agency, or in a state institution providing care for dependent or neglected children. If practical, when placing any child in the care of a family or a child welfare agency, the bureau shall select a family holding the same religious belief as the parents or relatives of the child, or a child welfare agency conducted under religious auspices of the same belief as the parents or relatives.