Email: Chapter 49, Article 10
§49-10-101. Legislative findings.
The Legislature finds the State of West Virginia is experiencing a child welfare crisis. From 2016 to 2020, the child protective service vacancy rate has increased from 9.7 percent to 33 percent. This significant lack of staffing has caused a delay in response times to begin investigations. During the same time period, the average hours to start a child protective service investigation after referral went from 119.1 hours in 2016 to now averaging 428.1 hours in 2020. This significant failure to begin the investigation can and has cost lives. The Legislature finds that the Bureau for Social Services is having extreme difficulty recruiting and retaining child protective service workers, youth service workers, adult protective service workers, and other related workers, including necessary casework support personnel and managers at the county level, who assist in the provision of services to vulnerable populations.
§49-10-102. Bureau for Social Service employees exempt from Division of Personnel.
(a) The Commissioner of the Bureau for Social Services shall develop a merit-based system policy for the bureau. The procedure shall include classification specifications, and may include compensation adjustments, retention incentives, and hiring approval by the commissioner. The commissioner shall have the full authority to evaluate applicants for employment or promotion or make classification determinations for positions within the merit-based system. The pay rates and employment requirements shall be put into effect on or before January 1, 2024. This merit-based system shall apply to new employees in the above referenced job classifications and for existing employees who elect, in writing to enter the merit-based system. The merit-based system is exempt from the Division of Personnel and all requirements of §29-6-1 et seq. of this code and any related rules. There is no requirement for uniformity regarding the pay scale for the same classification between regions of the state to account for market rates and demand for specific positions. The provisions of §6C-2-1 et seq. of this code are not applicable.
(b) Funding for the pay rates and employment requirements shall be provided from the appropriation to the bureau.
(c) The commissioner may conduct periodic wage and compensation analysis of identified market rates for the above positions as determined by the commissioner.
(d) The commissioner shall report to Legislative Oversight Commission of Health and Human Resources accountability by January 1, 2024.
§49-10-103. Bureau for Social Service employees no requirement uniformity in pay scale.
The Legislature finds that the Bureau for Social Services is having extreme difficulty retaining child protective service workers, youth service workers, adult protective service workers, and other related workers, including necessary casework support personnel and managers at the county level, who assist in the provision of services to vulnerable populations. To retain qualified employees in these crucial positions, there is no requirement for uniformity regarding the pay scale for the same classification between regions of the state to account for market rates and demand for specific positions. The provisions of §6C-2-1 et seq. of this code shall be applicable to the employees of the merit-based system as set forth in §49-10-102 of this code, however, there is no right to a grievance for any such regional pay disparity for the same job classification.