West Virginia Judiciary

Main Menu

• Public Resources
  • Court Information by County
  • News & Publications
  • Jury information
  • Law Library
  • Student Resources
  • Domestic Violence
  • Guardians & Conservators
  • Accessibility Information
• Supreme Court
  • Supreme Court of Appeals
  • Justices & Staff
  • Clerk's Office
  • Office of Counsel
  • Calendar & Docket
  • Opinions
• Lower Courts
  • Circuit Courts
  • Family Courts
  • Magistrate Courts
  • Treatment Courts
  • Mass Litigation Panel
  • Business Court Division
• Legal Community
  • Court Rules
  • Court Forms
  • Bar Admissions
  • Lawyer Disciplinary Board
  • Judicial Investigation
  • West Virginia State Bar
• Court Administration
  • Administrative Office
  • Court Security and Closures
  • Court Services
  • Probation Services
  • Access to Justice
  • Judicial Projects
  • For Court Employees

NOTE: The Rules of Procedure for Procedure for Child Abuse and Neglect Proceedings became effective on January 1, 1997, and most recently amended effective January 3, 2012.

Table of Contents

Rules 1 through 25

• Rule 1. Scope of child abuse and neglect rules.
• Rule 2. Purposes of child abuse and neglect rules; construction and enforcement.
• Rule 3. Definitions.
• Rule 3a. Pre-petition Investigations.
• Rule 4. Transfer and consolidation.
• Rule 4a. Venue.
• Rule 5. Contemporaneous civil, criminal, and other proceedings.
• Rule 6. Maintaining case on court docket.
• Rule 6a. Confidentiality of Proceedings and Records; Access by Family Court.
• Rule 7. Time Computation; extensions of time and continuances.
• Rule 8. Testimony of Children; inclusion of children in hearings and multidisciplinary treatment meetings.
• Rule 9. Use of closed circuit television testimony.
• Rule 10.Discovery.
• Rule 11. Motion to compel, limit, or deny discovery.
• Rule 12. Judicial management of discovery.
• Rule 13. Preservation of records and exhibits.
• Rule 14. Telephone or video conferences.
• Rule 15. Visitation and other communication with child.
• Rule 16. Emergency custody.
• Rule 16a. Required Entry of Support Orders.
• Rule 17. Pleadings allowed: Form of motions.
• Rule 18. Contents of petition.
• Rule 19. Amendments to petition.
• Rule 20. Notice of first hearing.
• Rule 21. Effect of personal service on only one parent.
• Rule 22. Preliminary hearing.
• Rule 23. Preadjudicatory improvement period; family case plan; status conference.
• Rule 24. Adjudicatory prehearing conference.
• Rule 25. Time of final adjudicatory hearing.

Rules 26 through 53

• Rule 26. Stipulated adjudication, uncontested petitions, contents of written reports and admissions.
• Rule 27. Findings; adjudication order.
• Rule 28. Disposition report by Department - The child's case plan; contents of the child's case plan.
• Rule 29. Notice of the child's case plan.
• Rule 30. Exchange of information before disposition hearing.
• Rule 31. Notice of disposition hearing.
• Rule 32. Time of disposition hearing.
• Rule 33. Stipulated disposition, contents of stipulation, voluntariness.
• Rule 34. Rulings on objections to the child's case plan.
• Rule 35. Uncontested termination of parental rights and contested termination and contests to the case plan.
• Rule 36. Findings; disposition order.
• Rule 36a. Permanency hearing.
• Rule 37. Improvement period; status conference.
• Rule 38. Hearing after improvement period; final disposition.
• Rule 39. Permanent placement review.
• Rule 40. Permanent placement review reports.
• Rule 41. Permanent placement review conference.
• Rule 42. Findings at permanent placement review; order.
• Rule 43. Time for permanent placement.
• Rule 44. Foster care review.
• Rule 45. Review following permanent placement; reporting permanent placement changes.
• Rule 46. Modification or supplementation of court order; stipulations.
• Rule 47. Status conference.
• Rule 48. Separate hearing on issue of paternity.
• Rule 49. Accelerated appeal for child abuse and neglect and termination of parental rights cases.
• Rule 50. Stays on appeal.
• Rule 51. Multidisciplinary treatment teams.
• Rule 52. Court-appointed special advocate (CASA) representative.
• Rule 53. Case status reporting.
• Rule 54. Transitioning Adults

Back to Rules