SEARCH SITE
VIRGINIA LAW PORTAL
- Code of Virginia
- Virginia Administrative Code
- Constitution of Virginia
- Charters
- Authorities
- Compacts
- Uncodified Acts
- RIS Users (account required)
SEARCHABLE DATABASES
- Bills & Resolutions
session legislation - Bill Summaries
session summaries - Reports to the General Assembly
House and Senate documents - Legislative Liaisons
State agency contacts
ACROSS SESSIONS
- Subject Index: Since 1995
- Bills & Resolutions: Since 1994
- Summaries: Since 1994
Developed and maintained by the Division of Legislative Automated Systems.
1996 SESSION
960214760Patrons-- Woods, Gartlan, Lucas and Ticer; Delegates: Brickley, Davies, Hamilton, Mayer, Melvin, Puller and Van Yahres
WHEREAS, the child protective services system was established by the General Assembly in 1975; and
WHEREAS, the General Assembly established the child protective services system for the purpose of identifying children who are being abused or neglected, of assuring that protective services will be made available to an abused or neglected child in order to protect such child and his siblings and to prevent further abuse or neglect, and of preserving the family life of the parents and children, where possible, by enhancing parental capacity for adequate child care; and
WHEREAS, the Child Protective Services Unit within the State Department of Social Services provides guidance and technical assistance to the local departments of social services who are charged with investigating reports of alleged child abuse or neglect; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to regulations promulgated by the State Board of Social Services, local departments of social services determine whether a case of child abuse or neglect is classified as unfounded or founded and in founded cases the name of the alleged perpetrator is entered into the central registry; and
WHEREAS, a person who is found to have committed child abuse or neglect may appeal the finding of the local department, first to the local department and then to a hearing officer employed by the State Department of Social Services and if still aggrieved, may appeal to the circuit court whose role is limited to a review of the record; and
WHEREAS, the Joint Subcommittee Studying Child Protective Services was established by House Joint Resolution No. 502 during the 1995 General Assembly Session; and
WHEREAS, the Joint Subcommittee thoroughly examined the issues assigned to it and determined that excessive resources are devoted to investigating reported cases of child abuse and neglect and determining whether a case of child abuse or neglect is founded or unfounded against an alleged perpetrator; and
WHEREAS, because resources for child protective services are very limited, the current requirement that all reports receive a full investigation can result in insufficient emphasis on providing services to families; and
WHEREAS, the Joint Subcommittee found that the child protective services problems experienced by the Commonwealth are being experienced by other states throughout the nation; and
WHEREAS, a handful of other states, including Florida, Missouri, South Dakota, and West Virginia have established multiple response child protective services systems but none have been operational long enough to be evaluated; and
WHEREAS, the Joint Subcommittee has filed legislation creating a pilot child protective services multiple response system which will allow local departments of social services to respond to reports of child abuse and neglect based on the characteristics of the individual case; and
WHEREAS, the establishment and operation of the three-year pilot program should be monitored by the Joint Subcommittee; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the [ House of Delegates, the Senate Senate, the House of
Delegates ] concurring, That the Joint Subcommittee [ studying the child
protective services system in the Commonwealth ] be continued to monitor the
implementation and operation of the pilot multiple response system and to
monitor the recommendations that it has made concerning (i) the adequacy of
training received by child protective services caseworkers, (ii) the categories
of complaint dispositions, (iii) access to and use of the central registry,
(iv) the child protective services appeals process, (v) proper procedures for
editing investigative reports given to appellants, (vi) the rights of
appellants to present supporting witnesses and documents and (vii) the
implementation of recommendations of the State Department of Social Services [
& rsquo; ' ] November 1994 study of the child protective services
appeals process. The Joint Subcommittee shall be composed of seven members [
, three of whom shall be members of the House of Delegates to be appointed
by the Speaker of the House of Delegates; one of whom shall be a former member
of the House of Delegates to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of
Delegates; and three of whom shall be members of the Senate to be appointed by
the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections as follows: three members
of the Senate to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Privileges and
Elections; and three members of the House of Delegates and one former member
of the House of Delegates, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House ] . The
Department of Social Services, the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court,
and the Office of the Attorney General shall provide assistance to the Joint
Subcommittee.
The direct costs of this study shall not exceed $2,000 [ for the first
year ] .
The Joint Subcommittee shall complete its work in time to submit its findings
and recommendations to the Governor and the [ 1999 1997 ] Session of the
General Assembly as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative
Automated Systems for processing legislative documents.
Implementation of this resolution is subject to subsequent approval and certification by the Joint Rules Committee. The Committee may withhold expenditures or delay the period for the conduct of the study.