Email: Chapter 18, Article 21
§18-21-1. Definition of "at-risk youth".
As used in this article "at-risk youth" means all children between birth and seventeen and young adults between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one who are low income, receiving benefits from the Department of Human Services, legally under the jurisdiction of the Department of Human Services or in custody of the West Virginia Division of Juvenile Services, the selected county's juvenile court/probation department or the selected county's alternative school system program.
§18-21-2. Creation of a special Community-Based Pilot Demonstration Project to Improve Outcomes for At-Risk Youth.
Effective July 1, 2012, if funds are available, the Secretary of the Department of Human Services shall select a community-based organization to establish a special Community-Based Pilot Demonstration Project to Improve Outcomes for At-Risk Youth in a specified community for a duration of seven years. The project will identify, implement and document best practices that can be replicated in other communities. The designated community-based organization shall operate the special pilot project under the direction of the Secretary of the Department of Human Services and shall work in collaboration with the State School Superintendent, local county school superintendent, Chancellor for Community and Technical College Education, the closest community and technical college and four-year college or university, State Workforce Investment Division, Executive Director of the West Virginia Vocational Rehabilitation Services, the local juvenile court system, the local workforce investment board, the Chancellor for Higher Education, the Director of West Virginia Division of Juvenile Services, the local mental or behavioral health organizations and other governmental and community-based organizations.
§18-21-3. Secretary of Department of Human Services responsibilities.
The Secretary of the Department of Human Services shall:
(1) Identify a county with the most at-risk youth, that also has adequate facilities and community leadership, to run a community-based pilot program that brings together both state and local organizations, to work collaboratively to provide comprehensive, intense wrap-around services to at-risk youth and their families in a seamless coordinated system; and
(2) Identify the challenges confronting the most at-risk youth and their families and make specific recommendations to the pilot program administrators to improve the outcomes for these youths; specifically, to reduce the number of abuse and neglect cases to reduce the number of youth in out-of-home and out-of-state placements; to reduce high school drop-out rates, to reduce substance abuse among youth including smoking, reduce teen pregnancies, to reduce juvenile delinquency and to reduce the number of juvenile delinquents and youth aging out of foster care that eventually enter into the adult criminal justice system.
(3) Document best practices which can be replicated in other counties.
(4) Establish base line and goals for each performance measure in conjunction with the director of the community-based organization operating the pilot project.
(5) Beginning in January 2013, on or before the first day of the regular session of the Legislature, and each year thereafter, the Secretary of Department of Human Services along with the director of the community-based organization operating the pilot program shall make a status report to the Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Resources Accountability.
§18-21-4. Organization and goals of the community-based pilot demonstration program.
(a) The pilot program shall be operated by a local community-based organization under the direction of the Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Human Services and in collaboration with the State School Superintendent, county school superintendent, Executive Director of the State Workforce Investment Division, Executive Director of WV Vocational Rehabilitation Services, the local juvenile court system, the Chancellor for Higher Education, the Chancellor for Community and Technical College Education, president of the local community and technical college and four-year college or university, the Director of the West Virginia Division of Juvenile Services, the local mental or behavioral health organizations and other governmental and community-based organizations and partner agencies to serve as a clearinghouse to coordinate comprehensive youth and family services. The pilot project shall be housed within the community and will be directed by a local community-based nonprofit organization.
(b) The pilot project shall operate out of a centrally located building to coordinate services to youth and their families in the selected county from birth to seventeen years of age who are referred by the Department of Human Services.
(c) The goal of the pilot program is to improve outcomes for at-risk youth as measured by the following metrics:
(1) Early childhood development:
(A) Increase in the number of mothers receiving early prenatal care;
(B) Increase in the number of mothers participating in the Right From the Start Program;
(C) Increase in the number of children screened by the birth to three year-old program for early development delays;
(D) Increase in the number of three year-olds enrolled in Head Start;
(E) Increase in the number of four year-olds enrolled in preschool.
(2) Preschool youth and teen measures:
(A) Decrease in school truancy;
(B) Decrease in truancy hearings;
(C) Decrease in school suspensions;
(D) Decrease in school expulsions;
(E) Decrease in high school dropouts at a select school;
(F) Increase in the number of youth participating in a mentoring program;
(G) Increase in academic performance for select students;
(H) Increase in the number of youth participating in summer employment; and
(I) Increase in the number of youth entering postsecondary education or the workforce.
(3) Parent measures:
(A) Increase in the number of individuals registered at the WorkForce West Virginia Center;
(B) Increase in the number of individuals enrolled in job training;
(C) Increase in the number of individuals completing job training with a certification or credential;
(D) Increase in the number of individuals placed in employment; and
(E) Increase in the number of children enrolled in the CHIP program.