Relating to the establishment of a pilot program for the use of mobile devices in child abuse and neglect investigations.

HB 4580 establishes a two-county pilot program requiring child protective service (CPS) workers in West Virginia to use mobile devices (like tablets) during child abuse and neglect investigations starting October 1, 2026. The bill mandates that these devices must have customized software allowing real-time digital record-keeping, automatic daily secure uploads to the department’s server, and compatibility with existing systems to track quality metrics. The pilot will last five years, with annual reports to the Legislative Oversight Commission detailing device usage and system performance. This directly affects CPS workers and the child welfare system in the participating counties, focusing on evaluating whether mobile technology improves investigation efficiency.