Using OVS

​​​​On April 1, 2014, the Online Voucher System (OVS) b​ecame mandatory for court appointed counsel.  If you are a court appointed attorney and have vouchers to submit to the agency for payment, they must be keyed in​to the OVS sy​stem. Once submitted electronically, the voucher will be processed for payment by Public Defender Services.  If you have any questions, please first refer to the legislative rules, then contact LeeAnn Doyle at Leeann.M.Doyle@wv.gov​ with any remaining questions. 

If you were appointed as a gua​rdian ad litem in a proceeding other than a child abuse and neglect proceeding, y​our compensation is not paid by PDS, but rather by the Supreme Court of Appeals pursuant to the provisions of Rules 21.01 through 21.06 and Rules 39.01 through 39.03 of the West Virginia Trial C​ourt Rules. Follow this link to find the forms used by the Supreme Court of Appeals for compensation of such services. 

Below you will find the forms you may need to submit along with your voucher​s. Click on the links and they will open into fillable forms which you may type in and save to your computer. Should you need an order, print the order, get the judge's signature/date and the raised seal on the order and attach the order to your voucher in OVS BEFORE you submit the voucher. Afterwards you will then go to the voucher in OVS, scroll down until you see the Document Library and upload the order in PDF format.


Orders​

Forms


Social Worker/Paralegal Expenses

  • Social Worker Fees: The fees related to retention of a social worker to do mitigation on behalf of your client will be treated as a “paralegal fee.” Accordingly, PDS will reimburse this expense at $20.00 per hour. You will need to provide a fully itemized invoice on letterhead. The invoice should detail the dates of service, time, and brief description of activity in the same form that attorney time and services are detailed. The identity of the social worker must be stated and a separate invoice must be prepared by each social worker. Because these services are treated as paralegal services, the time is an expense on the appointed attorney’s voucher and cannot be billed on a Direct Expense Voucher.

  • Paralegal Fees: PDS will reimburse paralegal services at $20.00 per hour. In order to be reimbursed for paralegal time, you must provide a fully itemized invoice on letterhead. The invoice should detail the dates of service, time, and brief description of activity in the same form that attorney time and services are detailed. The identity of the p​aralegal must be stated and a separate invoice must be prepared by each paralegal. The paralegal, by statute, cannot bill for "in-court" time unless approved by the court. The maximum compensation for in-court paralegal services is $1,000.00. Paralegal time is an expense on the appointed attorney's voucher and cannot be billed on a Direct Expense Voucher.



Other Resources


Frequently Asked Questions

  • Does PDS reimburse for meals?​

    • ​​​The appointed attorney's meals can only be reimbursed for overnight stays.  The limit for reimbursement can be found under the Governor’s Travel Rules and Regulations authorized by the Travel Management Office (TMO).  See http://www.state.wv.us/admin/purchase/travel/​

  • Please explain the "Count" field on the On-Line Voucher System (OVS)?

    • The "Count" field will always be 1, unless there are multiple counts, with the same Case Type, keyed under the same Criminal Charge, with the same Case number. ​Examples are listed below.

      Example 1: Same case type, Multiple charges (but keyed the same), same case number

      Client charged with 12 counts - All 12 counts are felonies, 6 counts of Forgery and 6 counts of Uttering, case number on all 12 counts is 12-F-45. May or may not have the same code citation. The criminal charge of Forgery and criminal charge of Uttering are keyed under the criminal charge of "Forgery & Uttering."  Key this case information under one entry as follows:​

      Case type is "Felony"

      Criminal charge is "Forgery & Uttering"

      Key in the code citation (if more than one code citation just enter one)

      Case Number is "12-F-45"

      Count is "12"​​

      ​In order for the count to be more tha​n one, three things must be the same: case type, criminal charge and case number. The code citations may be different.

  • How can I more efficiently store OVS Numbers?

    • ​​OVS Numbers should be kept on a list together with the corresponding case number and client name. For you and PDS to try to identify this information after payment is extremely difficult and time consuming. In the VISTA system, the Vendor Invoice Number is the OVS Number so if you have a list of OVS Numbers then you can immediately identify the clients and cases paid on state warrants. Here is an example of a form you will find useful in keeping a listing of OVS Numbers (Excel Version). You can add to or modify the form to fit your need.​​