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Read. Follow. Verify.West Virginia requires Child Protective Services to provide parents with written statements of immediate and ongoing rights upon first contact
Last action · March 2, 2026: To House JudiciarySponsors: Tom Willis and 2 others
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What This Bill Proposed
Child Protective Services workers must immediately provide parents or legal custodians with a guidebook, a statement of immediate rights, and a statement of ongoing rights upon first contact during an investigation. The worker must give the parent time to read the immediate rights statement, make reasonable efforts to explain it verbally, and document that the materials were provided in the case record.
Parents facing a child protective investigation gain explicit written notice of their legal protections, including the right to refuse home entry without a warrant, the right to record audio of interactions, and the right to review their personal case files.
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
parents or other persons having legal custody of a child
Parents receive mandatory written disclosures of immediate and ongoing legal rights, time to read them, and verbal explanations upon first contact with investigators.
Child Protective Services workers
Workers are required to provide specific printed guides and rights statements immediately upon first contact and document doing so in the case record.
Department of Human Services
The department must ensure statements are available in alternative formats and languages and maintain compliance with file access and confidentiality statutes.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
When must Child Protective Services provide parents with the rights statements?
Can parents record their interactions with Child Protective Services workers?
Do parents have the right to refuse entry to their home?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · passed the Senate · in House committee.
Procedural history
17 actions- Mar 2, 2026HouseCommitteeTo House Judiciary
- Mar 2, 2026HouseCommitteeTo Judiciary
- Mar 2, 2026HouseIntroducedIntroduced in House
- Mar 2, 2026HouseHouse received Senate message
- Feb 27, 2026SenateOrdered to House
- Feb 27, 2026SenateFloorPassed Senate (Roll No. 264)
Show 11 earlier actions
- Feb 27, 2026SenateRead 3rd time
- Feb 27, 2026SenateOn 3rd reading
- Feb 26, 2026SenateRead 2nd time
- Feb 26, 2026SenateOn 2nd reading
- Feb 25, 2026SenateRead 1st time
- Feb 25, 2026SenateOn 1st reading
- Feb 24, 2026SenateCommittee substitute reported
- Feb 20, 2026SenateCommitteeTo Judiciary
- Feb 20, 2026SenateIntroducedIntroduced in Senate
- Feb 20, 2026SenateCommitteeTo Judiciary
- Feb 20, 2026SenateIntroducedFiled for introduction
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Connected Entities
Sources
www.wvlegislature.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 65)
- Controversy15Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
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