General Assembly>Division of Legislative Services>Publications>Session Summaries>2005>Welfare (Social Services)

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Welfare (Social Services)

Passed

P HB1550

Child Day-Care Council regulations; parental notification when a child is injured. Requires the Board of Social Services and the Child Day-Care Council to review all regulations under their purview regarding child day programs to determine whether they adequately provide for the notification of parents, legal guardians, or other persons duly authorized to pick up a child, in the event a child sustains a significant physical injury while under the program's care. If the regulations are deemed inadequate, then the Board and Council shall adopt regulations that require each program to notify a child's parent, legal guardian, or other person duly authorized to pick up the child from the center whenever any owner, operator, manager, or employee thereof has actual knowledge of a significant physical injury sustained by the child while in attendance. The regulations shall establish notification procedures including the time and manner in which notification shall be made, and the nature and scope of physical injuries that shall require notification.
Patron - Alexander

P HB1761

Food stamp benefits; drug-related felonies. Provides that a person who is otherwise eligible to receive food stamp benefits shall not be denied such assistance because the person has been convicted of a felony offense of possession of a controlled substance in violation of § 18.2-250, provided such person is complying with, or has already complied with, all obligations imposed by the criminal court, is actively engaged in or has completed a substance abuse treatment program, participates in periodic drug screenings, and any other obligations as determined by the Department. While the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families federal legislation bars food stamps to such persons, the federal law does permit states to opt out of this provision.
Patron - Dillard

P HB1854

Returns, exchanges, or re-dispensing of drugs; exceptions. Authorizes hospitals to enter into voluntary agreements with pharmacies to transfer drugs, upon compliance with various conditions, that have been originally dispensed to hospital patients, but have been returned, and that the drugs may be re-dispensed by the pharmacy to patients of clinics organized in whole or in part for the delivery of health care services without charge or to indigent patients, free of charge.
Patron - Eisenberg

P HB1963

Department and Board of Social Services; current social benefits structure; incentives for the break-up of families. Requires the Department and Board of Social Services to ensure, unless otherwise prohibited by federal law, that Virginia's current social benefits structure does not provide economic or other incentives for the break-up of families, and to eliminate such incentives to the extent possible.
Patron - Jones, D.C.

P HB1969

Child protective services; anonymous complaints. Provides that, upon request, the local department of social services shall advise the person who was the subject of an unfounded child protective services investigation if the complaint or report was made anonymously. However, the identity of a complainant or reporter shall not be disclosed.
Patron - Cox

P HB2002

Background checks for foster parents. Authorizes a child-placing agency to approve as a foster parent an applicant with not more than one assault and battery conviction as set out in § 18.2-57 as long as the conviction did not involve abuse, neglect, moral turpitude, or a minor, and provided 10 years have elapsed since the conviction. A nearly identical provision is already in state law for adoptive parents.
Patron - Dudley

P HB2036

Long-term care services for older adults. Provides generally that the Commonwealth shall seek to ensure coordinated, effective, and efficient long-term care services to older adults. The bill sets out the policy of the Commonwealth in providing such services.
Patron - Hamilton

P HB2041

Neighborhood Assistance Act; tax credits. Increases the maximum tax credit that individuals may receive from $750 to $50,000. This bill incorporates HB 1788.
Patron - Hamilton

P HB2098

Child day centers; criminal background checks. Provides that a child day center may hire for compensated employment persons who have been convicted of not more than one misdemeanor offense under § 18.2-57 (assault and battery) if 10 years have elapsed following the conviction, unless the person committed the offense while employed in a child day center or the object of the offense was a minor.
Patron - Joannou

P HB2163

Child protective services; school employees. Provides that if, after an investigation of a child protective services complaint, the local department of social services determines that the actions or omissions of a teacher, principal, or other person employed by a local school board or employed in a school operated by the Commonwealth were within such employee's scope of employment and were taken in good faith in the course of supervision, care, or discipline of students, then the standard in determining if a report of abuse or neglect is founded is whether such acts or omissions constituted gross negligence or willful misconduct. The bill contains technical amendments. This bill is identical to SB 1243.
Patron - Reese

P HB2268

Transitional food stamp benefits. Requires the Department of Social Services, to the extent permitted by federal law, to provide transitional food stamp benefits for a period of not more than five months after the date on which Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) cash assistance is terminated. However, no household shall be eligible for transitional food stamp benefits if TANF cash assistance was terminated because all children in the assistance unit were removed from the home as a result of a child protective services investigation.
Patron - Bell

P HB2433

Domestic violence and prevention services. Requires the Department of Social Services to (i) support, strengthen, evaluate, and monitor community-based domestic violence programs funded by the Department and act as the administrator for state grant funds and the disbursal of federal funds, (ii) collaborate with the Statewide Domestic Violence Coalition in developing and implementing community-based programs to respond to and prevent domestic violence, (iii) establish minimum standards of training and provide educational programs to train workers in the fields of child and adult protective services in local departments and community-based domestic violence programs funded by the Department to identify domestic violence and provide effective referrals for appropriate services, (iv) work with the Statewide Domestic Violence Coalition to implement methods to preserve the confidentiality of all domestic violence services records, (v) work collaboratively with the Statewide Domestic Violence Coalition to operate the Virginia Family Violence and Sexual Assault 24-hour toll-free hotline and the Statewide Domestic Violence Database (Vadata), and (vi) promote interagency collaboration and cooperation to facilitate the appropriate response to victims of domestic violence. This bill is identical to SB 1144.
Patron - Hamilton

P HB2461

Core licensure of residential facilities for children. Requires the Boards of Education; Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services; Social Services; and Juvenile Justice to promulgate regulations that address the services required to be provided in groups homes and other residential facilities for children as they may deem appropriate to ensure the education, health, welfare, and safety of the juveniles (as relevant to the Department). In addition, each board's regulations must include, but need not be limited to (i) specifications for the structure and accommodations of such facilities according to the needs of the juveniles to be placed in the home or facility; (ii) rules concerning allowable activities, local government- and group home- or residential care facility-imposed curfews, and study, recreational, and bedtime hours; and (iii) a requirement that each home or facility have a community liaison who shall be responsible for facilitating cooperative relationships with the neighbors, the school system, local law enforcement, local government officials, and the community at large. This bill is identical to SB 1304.
Patron - Nixon

P HB2512

Assisted living facilities; civil penalty. Requires administrators of assisted living facilities, except for those providing residential living care only, to be licensed by the Board of Long-Term Care Administrators within the Department of Health Professions. The bill renames the Board of Nursing Home Administrators as the Board of Long-Term Care Administrators. The Board of Long-Term Care Administrators shall adopt regulations on or before July 1, 2007, and the administrator licensing provisions shall not be implemented or enforced until 12 months after the regulations become effective. The bill permits the Commissioner of the Department of Social Services to issue an order of summary suspension of a license to operate an assisted living facility in cases of immediate and substantial threat to the health, safety, and welfare of residents and increases from $500 to $10,000 the maximum civil penalty for an assisted living facility out of compliance with licensure requirements. The bill requires medication aides in assisted living facilities to be registered by the Board of Nursing. The Board of Nursing shall adopt regulations on or before July 1, 2007, and the registration provisions shall not be implemented or enforced until 12 months after the regulations become effective. Regulations for a Medication Management Plan in assisted living facilities are to be developed by the State Board of Social Services, in consultation with the Board of Nursing and the Board of Pharmacy. The bill creates the Assisted Living Facility Education, Training, and Technical Assistance Fund. The bill requires applicants for licensure as an assisted living facility to undergo a background check. The bill also requires each assisted living facility to provide written disclosure documents to residents and their legal representatives, if any, upon admission. Finally, the bill requires the Department for the Aging's contract with the long-term care ombudsman program provide a minimum staffing ratio of one ombudsman to every 2,000 long-term care beds, subject to sufficient funding. Through enactment clauses, the Department of Social Services is charged with developing a training module for adult care licensing inspectors and integrating into the assisted living facility regulations standards that are consistent with recommendations of the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services to ensure appropriate care for residents with mental illness, mental retardation, substance abuse, and other behavioral disabilities. This bill is identical to SB 1183 and incorporates HB 2150, HB 2362, HB 2537, HB 2545, and HB 2896.
Patron - Hamilton

P HB2807

Gastric tube care for residents of assisted living facilities. Allows assisted living facility staff to provide gastric tube care to a resident at his request and when his independent physician determines that it is appropriate if the care is delivered in accordance with regulations of the Board of Nursing for delegation by a registered nurse. Currently, such care may be provided by a licensed physician, nurse, or home care organization.
Patron - Scott, E.T.

P SB730

Local boards of social services; member terms of office. Shortens the intervening period during which persons are not eligible to serve on local social services boards from four years to two years after serving two consecutive terms. The bill does not affect any statutory appointment provisions that may exist for counties adopting special forms of government.
Patron - Hawkins

P SB854

Adoption and custody. Provides that a birth father's consent to adoption is not necessary if the birth father is convicted in another state, the United States, or any foreign jurisdiction of (i) rape, (ii) carnal knowledge of a child between 13 and 15 years of age, or (iii) adultery or fornication with his mother, daughter or granddaughter. Any person convicted of such crimes in another state, the United States, or any foreign jurisdiction also is excluded from the definition of persons having a legitimate interest in matters involving custody, support, control, visitation or disposition of a child conceived as a result of the violation. Current law addresses these issues only for convictions for offenses committed in Virginia.
Patron - Cuccinelli

P SB935

Virginia Caregivers Grant Program. Extends the period for which grants under the Virginia Caregivers Grant Program can be provided from December 31, 2005, to December 31, 2010. The Virginia Caregivers Grant Program provides a $500 grant to individuals who provide care to a physically or mentally impaired relative who requires assistance with two or more activities of daily living during more than half the year.
Patron - Stosch

P SB1144

P SB1183

Assisted living facilities; civil penalty. Requires administrators of assisted living facilities, except for those providing residential living care only, to be licensed by the Board of Long-Term Care Administrators within the Department of Health Professions. The bill renames the Board of Nursing Home Administrators as the Board of Long-Term Care Administrators. The Board of Long-Term Care Administrators shall adopt regulations on or before July 1, 2007, and the administrator licensing provisions shall not be implemented or enforced until 12 months after the regulations become effective. The bill permits the Commissioner of the Department of Social Services to issue an order of summary suspension of a license to operate an assisted living facility in cases of immediate and substantial threat to the health, safety, and welfare of residents and increases from $500 to $10,000 the maximum civil penalty for an assisted living facility out of compliance with licensure requirements. The bill requires medication aides in assisted living facilities to be registered by the Board of Nursing. The Board of Nursing shall adopt regulations on or before July 1, 2007, and the registration provisions shall not be implemented or enforced until 12 months after the regulations become effective. Regulations for a Medication Management Plan in assisted living facilities are to be developed by the State Board of Social Services, in consultation with the Board of Nursing and the Board of Pharmacy. The bill creates the Assisted Living Facility Education, Training, and Technical Assistance Fund. The bill requires applicants for licensure as an assisted living facility to undergo a background check. The bill also requires each assisted living facility to provide written disclosure documents to residents and their legal representatives, if any, upon admission. Finally, the bill requires the Department for the Aging's contract with the long-term care ombudsman program provide a minimum staffing ratio of one ombudsman to every 2,000 long-term care beds, subject to sufficient funding. Through enactment clauses, the Department of Social Services is charged with developing a training module for adult care licensing inspectors and integrating into the assisted living facility regulations standards that are consistent with recommendations of the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services to ensure appropriate care for residents with mental illness, mental retardation, substance abuse, and other behavioral disabilities. This bill is identical to HB 2512 and incorporates SB 1000, SB 1085, SB 1140, SB 1185, SB 1187, and SB 1212.
Patron - Hanger

P SB1243

Child protective services; school employees. Provides that if, after an investigation of a child protective services complaint, the local department of social services determines that the actions or omissions of a teacher, principal, or other person employed by a local school board or employed in a school operated by the Commonwealth were within such employee's scope of employment and were taken in good faith in the course of supervision, care, or discipline of students, then the standard in determining if a report of abuse or neglect is founded is whether such acts or omissions constituted gross negligence or willful misconduct. This bill contains technical amendments and is identical to HB 2163.
Patron - Devolites Davis

P SB1304

Core licensure of residential facilities for children. Requires the Boards of Education; Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services; Social Services; and Juvenile Justice to promulgate regulations that address the services required to be provided in group homes and other residential facilities for children as they may deem appropriate to ensure the education, health, welfare, and safety of the juveniles (as relevant to the Department). In addition, each board's regulations must include, but need not be limited to (i) specifications for the structure and accommodations of such facilities according to the needs of the juveniles to be placed in the home or facility; (ii) rules concerning allowable activities, local government- and group home- or residential care facility-imposed curfews, and study, recreational, and bedtime hours; and (iii) a requirement that each home or facility have a community liaison who shall be responsible for facilitating cooperative relationships with the neighbors, the school system, local law enforcement, local government officials, and the community at large. This bill is identical to HB 2461.
Patron - Martin

Failed

F HB1557

Social services; Virginia Caregivers Grant. Increases the grant available to a caregiver of a mentally or physically impaired relative from $500 to $3,000 if the caregiver can provide appropriate documentation that without such care, the relative would be domiciled in a nursing facility. Grants from this fund shall not exceed the amount appropriated by the General Assembly to the Virginia Caregivers Grant Fund.
Patron - Purkey

F HB1788

Neighborhood Assistance Act; tax credits. Increases the total amount that programs created under the Act can grant in tax credits from $8 million to $10 million and increases the allocation that must go to education programs conducted by neighborhood organizations from $2,750,000 to $4,750,000. The bill also (i) increases maximum tax credit that individuals may receive from $750 to $100,000; (ii) permits individuals to donate real property and stock, in addition to money; and (iii) adds professional printing, design, and technical writing services to the definition of "professional services" for which individuals may receive tax credits. This bill has been incorporated into HB 2041.
Patron - BaCote

F HB1902

Social services; Virginia Caregivers Grant program. Increases the grant available to a caregiver of a mentally or physically impaired relative from $500 to $3,000 if the caregiver can provide appropriate documentation that without such care, the relative would be domiciled in a nursing facility. Grants from this fund shall not exceed the amount appropriated by the General Assembly to the Virginia Caregivers Grant Fund. The sunset date is also extended from December 31, 2005, to December 31, 2010.
Patron - Baskerville

F HB1919

Consent to adoption; exceptions. Provides that a birth father's consent to adoption is not required where he is incarcerated upon a felony with more than 12 months remaining on his sentence and he was not married to the birth mother at the time of the child's conception or birth.
Patron - Cole

F HB1956

Child support; administrative orders; guideline factors. Provides that the Department of Social Services, in establishing child support amounts in an administrative order, shall consider the factors established to rebut the guideline amount presumption.
Patron - Jones, D.C.

F HB1998

Exemption from licensure as day care centers for certain martial arts programs. Provides an exemption from licensure as day care centers for programs of instruction that focus solely on the martial arts and operate as drop-in programs where, by written policy given to and signed by a parent or guardian, children are free to enter and leave the premises without permission or supervision and parents are clearly notified in writing that the facilities are not licensed as child day centers. The exemption will be granted regardless of (i) such programs' locations or the number of days per week of operation; (ii) the provision of transportation services, including drop-off and pick-up times; (iii) the initiation of measures designed to protect the health and safety of the enrolled children, such as requiring the child to obtain the permission of the instructor to leave a class, requiring verbal or written permission from the parent for the child to leave a facility during a class, or operating a "hot line" to enable the parent to notify the facility when a child will not be in attendance, or maintaining a mechanism by which the bus driver can check on the whereabouts of any child who does not board the bus as scheduled; (iv) the scheduling of breaks for snacks, homework or other activities approved by the parent; or (v) the advertising of the martial arts program as an alternative to child day centers for children of school age who are at least six years old.
Patron - Griffith

F HB2124

Congregate housing services pilot program for frail elderly individuals. Directs the Department for the Aging to establish a four-year pilot congregate housing services program for frail elderly individuals. The Department is authorized to enter into contracts with qualified housing projects to establish the congregate housing services programs. The Department, in consultation with the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, shall develop criteria for the selection of pilot areas, which shall include an assessment of the qualified housing project's proposal for the congregate housing services program and the area's plan for the community involvement, including the involvement of the area agency on aging, the local department of social services, and the local department of housing. The Department shall submit to the House and Senate Committees on General Laws a report outlining the plan for the congregate housing services for frail elderly individuals by November 1, 2005, and operationalize the plan by March 1, 2006. The qualified housing project shall specify the type and priorities of the supportive services it will provide during the term of the contract and such services shall be related to the needs and characteristics of the residents. The qualified housing project shall establish a fee schedule for each supportive service and residents shall contribute financially toward the cost of services, according to their ability to pay based on their income. Any fees charged shall not exceed the cost of providing the services. The Department shall determine an individual's eligibility for the congregate housing services program and the services subsidy, i.e., the sum necessary to provide supportive services to an eligible participant in excess of that individual's ability to pay for services, to be paid by the Department. The Department shall evaluate and report on the impact and effectiveness of the congregate housing services program for frail elderly individuals.
Patron - Eisenberg

F HB2150

Assisted living facilities; individualized family service plans. Requires the Board of Social Services to adopt regulations establishing requirements and protocols for individualized family service plans, which shall be required for all residents of licensed assisted living facilities. The bill sets forth minimum requirements for such plans. This bill has been incorporated into HB 2512.
Patron - Amundson

F HB2362

Assisted living facilities. Requires administrators of assisted living facilities to be licensed by the Board of Long-Term Care Administrators within the Department of Health Professions. The bill renames the Board of Nursing Home Administrators as the Board of Long-Term Care Administrators. These licensing provisions shall take effect July 1, 2007. The bill permits the Commissioner of the Department of Social Services to issue an order of summary suspension of a license to operate an assisted living facility and adult day care center in cases of immediate and substantial threat to the health, safety, and welfare of residents or participants. The bill requires that medication aides be registered by the Board of Nursing if the drugs administered would otherwise be self-administered to residents in an assisted living facility or participants in an adult day care center program licensed by the Department of Social Services. The bill requires that assisted living facilities employ a certified nurse aide registered as a medication aide who sees each resident once a week and is available seven days a week to see any resident upon request. The bill also requires the Departments of Social Services and Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services to increase access to and improve the quality of necessary and appropriate care provided to adults with serious mental illnesses, mental retardation, or substance dependence or abuse who reside in assisted living facilities. The bill requires the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services (DMHMRSAS) to develop standards to be incorporated into the assisted living facility licensing regulations adopted by the State Board of Social Services for the provision of care and treatment, training, or habilitation services to and the protection of such adults. DMHMRSAS shall provide consultation about treatment, training, and habilitation needs of and services and behavioral interventions for such adults to licensing staff in the Department of Social Services, particularly to staff who may be designated as resource specialists for serving such adults. The bill requires all applicants for an assisted living facility license to undergo a criminal background check. The bill requires each assisted living facility to provide written disclosure documents to residents upon admission. The Department of Social Services shall develop a training module for licensing inspectors and criteria for assessing civil penalties. This bill has been incorporated into HB 2512.
Patron - Watts

F HB2537

Assisted living facilities; civil penalties. Permits the Commissioner to issue an order of summary suspension of a license to operate an assisted living facility and adult day care center (licensee) in cases of immediate and substantial threat to the health, safety, and welfare of residents or participants. The bill also authorizes the Commissioner to deny, revoke, or summarily suspend certain authority of the licensee to operate and may permit the licensee to operate, but may restrict or modify the licensee's authority to provide certain services or perform certain functions that the Commissioner determines should be restricted or modified in order to protect the health, safety, or welfare of the residents or participants. Prior to any summary suspension, the Commissioner shall first appoint a competent person to administer, manage, or operate an assisted living facility and adult day care center. The bill increases the maximum civil penalties for assisted living facilities from $500 to $10,000 per license period and directs that the civil penalties be paid into the newly created Assisted Living Facility Education, Training, and Technical Assistance Fund to provide education and training for staff of and technical assistance to assisted living facilities. Criteria for imposition of civil penalties and amounts, expressed in ranges, must be based upon the severity, pervasiveness, duration, and degree of risk to the health, safety, or welfare of residents. The bill requires an assisted living facility to ensure that a thorough mental health screening of persons with mental illness, mental retardation, or other conditions is or has been performed, and that an individualized services plan for such person is created through the local community services board or behavioral health authority, or through other appropriate service providers. The bill requires each assisted living facility to fully disclose prior to admission information about the services, policies, staffing patterns, fees, and ownership structure of the facility, specifically including a description of conditions or occurrences that would require the discharge of the resident from the facility. The State Board of Social Services shall adopt emergency regulations for the implementation of these provisions. Finally, the Department of Social Services shall develop a training module on assisted living facilities and train current and future employees. This bill has been incorporated into HB 2512.
Patron - Nixon

F HB2545

Assisted living facilities; education and training. Requires the Departments of Social Services and Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services to increase access to and improve the quality of necessary and appropriate care provided to adults with serious mental illnesses, mental retardation, or substance dependence or abuse who reside in assisted living facilities. The bill requires the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services (DMHMRSAS) to develop standards to be incorporated into the assisted living facility licensing regulations adopted by the State Board of Social Services for the provision of care and treatment, training, or habilitation services to and the protection of such adults. DMHMRSAS shall provide consultation about treatment, training, and habilitation needs of and services and behavioral interventions for such adults to licensing staff in the Department of Social Services, particularly to staff who may be designated as resource specialists for serving such adults. The bill requires DMHMRSAS to encourage community services boards and behavioral health authorities to provide consultation about treatment, training, and habilitation needs of and services and behavioral interventions for such adults to licensed assisted living facilities and to notify Department of Social Services licensing staff and licensed assisted living facilities of opportunities to participate in training offered at its state facilities on applicable topics that address the needs of and services and interventions for such adults in assisted living facilities. Finally, the bill requires the Department of Social Services to designate licensing staff who have received additional training to serve as resource specialists on issues involved in serving such adults and to participate in licensing assisted living facilities in which a significant portion of the residents have serious mental illnesses, mental retardation, or substance dependence or abuse. This bill has been incorporated into HB 2512.
Patron - Van Landingham

F HB2601

Medical assistance services; asset transfer limit waiver. Permits the Department of Medical Assistance Services, when appropriate and practicable, to seek a waiver pursuant to § 1115 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 1315) from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to establish asset transfer limits that are more restrictive than those currently permitted under federal Medicaid law or regulations. Prior to submitting an application, the Director shall report on the limits on asset transfers in the proposed waiver.
Patron - Landes

F HB2676

Adult Fatality Review Team; duties; membership; confidentiality; etc.; penalties; report. Requires the Commissioner of the Department of Social Services and the Chief Medical Examiner to develop an Adult Fatality Review Team ("Team") to review suspicious deaths of adults in order to create a body of information to help prevent future fatalities. The Team is charged with reviewing the death of any incapacitated adult aged 18 or older, and any adult aged 60 or older (i) who was the subject of an adult protective services investigation, or (ii) whose death was due to abuse or neglect or acts suggesting possible abuse or neglect. The bill sets forth duties, membership, confidentiality, reporting, and other requirements for the Team.
Patron - Ebbin

F HB2848

Child day centers; square footage and space requirements. Provides square footage and space requirements for licensed child day centers.
Patron - McQuigg

F HB2876

Address Confidentiality Program; victims of domestic violence. Establishes in the Office of the Attorney General the "Address Confidentiality Program" to protect victims of domestic violence by authorizing the use of designated addresses for such victims.
Patron - Miller

F HB2883

Child support; establishing and enforcing visitation orders. Empowers the Department of Social Services to establish and enforce visitation orders, and to enforce any court-ordered visitation orders.
Patron - Spruill

F HB2884

Child support; withholding of income and seizure of property; notice. Provides that prior to withholding income or seizing property, notice must be provided to the obligor and there must be a court hearing.
Patron - Spruill

F HB2911

Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect; evaluation of child-protective services investigations; report. Requires the Department of Social Services to evaluate and report on the impact and effectiveness of child-protective services investigations. The bill sets forth information that the evaluation must include, such as the effectiveness of the initial assessment in determining the appropriate level of intervention; successes and problems encountered in providing services; the number of temporary and permanent removals of children from their families or current living arrangements and the terms of such removals; and the number of complaints filed against child-protective services workers at the local and state level and the final outcomes of such complaints. The bill requires the Department to submit the report annually to the Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect, which shall develop protocols and criteria based upon the findings and recommendations contained in the annual reports for improving the effectiveness of child-protective services investigations at the state and local levels. The bill also requires the subject of an abuse or neglect investigation to be given the contact information for the supervisor of the child-protective services worker and the director of the child-protective services unit so that the person can discuss any concerns regarding the conduct of the investigation.
Patron - Shannon

F HB2921

Adoptions; investigation by circuit court. Requires the circuit court's investigation of a petitioner for adoption to include an inquiry into whether the petitioner is known to engage in current voluntary homosexual activity or is unmarried and cohabiting with another adult to whom he is not related by blood or marriage.
Patron - Black

F SB749

Family day home systems and family day homes; civil penalty. Requires any person who operates a family day home approved by a licensed family day system, licensed family day home or voluntarily registered family day home that is not covered by liability insurance to post that fact in the family day home and notify in writing the parent or guardian of each child under the care of the family day home. Any person who fails to give the required notice shall be subject to a civil penalty of $500 for each such failure.
Patron - Edwards

F SB857

Adult Fatality Review Team; duties; membership; confidentiality; etc.; penalties. Requires the Commissioner of the Department of Social Services and the Chief Medical Examiner to develop an Adult Fatality Review Team ("Team") to conduct a retrospective review of suspicious deaths of certain adults for the purpose of identifying interventions that may reduce similar deaths in the future. The Team is charged with reviewing the death of any incapacitated adult aged 18 or older, and any adult aged 60 or older, whose death was due to violent or unnatural circumstances. The bill sets forth duties, membership, confidentiality, reporting, and other requirements for the Team.
Patron - Howell

F SB862

Mandatory reporting of child abuse and neglect. Requires any regular minister, priest, rabbi, or accredited practitioner to report suspected child abuse or neglect to a local department of social services or the Department of Social Services' toll-free child abuse and neglect hotline. The bill exempts from the mandatory reporting requirement information required by the doctrine of the religious organization or denomination to be kept in a confidential manner and information that the practitioner would not be required to disclose in court testimony pursuant to other Code provisions.
Patron - Howell

F SB979

Designated agency adoptions. Provides that when a licensed child-placing agency or a local board of social services (agency) accepts custody of a child for the purpose of placing the child with adoptive parents designated by the birth parents or a person other than an agency, either the parental placement adoption provisions or the agency adoption provisions will apply to the placement at the election of the birth parent. Current law requires agencies to use parental placement adoption law when birth parents designate adoptive parents. Current parental placement adoption law requires the simultaneous meeting of the birth and adoptive parents during the home study and the presence of both parties at the consent hearing in juvenile and domestic relations court. This bill will provide a designated adoption through an agency that is either disclosed or nondisclosed. The agency or local board shall provide information to the birth parents regarding the parental placement adoption and the agency adoption provisions in order to give the birth parents the opportunity to make an informed choice. Any compensation to any party in connection with the adoption is prohibited except as provided in current law.
Patron - O'Brien

F SB1000

F SB1069

Office of Children's Services Ombudsman. Creates, within the Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Resources, the Office of Children's Services Ombudsman (the Office). The mission of the Office is to protect children and parents from harmful agency action or inaction; investigate the acts of state and local administrative agencies adversely affecting children; recommend appropriate changes toward the goals of safeguarding the rights of children and parents; and promote higher standards of competency, efficiency, and justice in the administration of child protection and child welfare laws. The Office is to be headed by a Director appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human Resources. The bill also contains an exemption from the Freedom of Information Act for active investigations conducted by the Office. The bill contains technical amendments.
Patron - Edwards

F SB1085

Assisted living facilities. Permits the Commissioner to issue an order of summary suspension of a license to operate an assisted living facility and adult day care center in cases of immediate and substantial threat to the health, safety, and welfare of residents or participants. The bill also requires every employee in an assisted living facility in a direct care position to be a licensed registered nurse or practical nurse or certified nurse aide. This bill has been incorporated into SB 1183.
Patron - Ticer

F SB1140

Assisted living facilities; civil penalty. Requires administrators of assisted living facilities to be licensed by the Board of Long-Term Care Administrators within the Department of Health Professions. The bill renames the Board of Nursing Home Administrators as the Board of Long-Term Care Administrators. These licensing provisions shall take effect July 1, 2007. Among other provisions, the bill permits the Commissioner of the Department of Social Services to issue an order of summary suspension of a license to operate an assisted living facility and adult day care center in cases of immediate and substantial threat to the health, safety, and welfare of residents or participants and increases from $500 to $10,000 the maximum civil penalty for an assisted living facility out of compliance with licensure requirements. The bill also requires every employee in an assisted living facility in a direct care position to be a licensed registered nurse or practical nurse or certified nurse aide. The bill requires medication aides in assisted living facilities to be registered by the Board of Nursing. The bill requires that assisted living facilities employ a certified nurse aide registered as a medication aide who sees each resident once a week and is available seven days a week to see any resident upon request. The bill also requires the Departments of Social Services and Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services to increase access to and improve the quality of necessary and appropriate care provided to adults with serious mental illnesses, mental retardation, or substance dependence or abuse who reside in assisted living facilities. The bill requires the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services (DMHMRSAS) to develop standards to be incorporated into the assisted living facility licensing regulations adopted by the State Board of Social Services for the provision of care and treatment, training, or habilitation services to and the protection of such adults. DMHMRSAS shall provide consultation about treatment, training, and habilitation needs of and services and behavioral interventions for such adults to licensing staff in the Department of Social Services, particularly to staff who may be designated as resource specialists for serving such adults. The bill requires each assisted living facility to provide written disclosure documents to residents upon admission. The Department of Social Services shall develop a training module for licensing inspectors. Finally, the bill eliminates the local share of the auxiliary grant funding and requires the Department for the Aging's contract with the long-term care ombudsman program provide a minimum staffing ratio of one ombudsman to every 2000 long-term care beds. This bill has been incorporated into SB 1183.
Patron - Hanger

F SB1187

Assisted living facilities; civil penalties. Requires administrators of assisted living facilities to be licensed by the Board of Long-Term Care Administrators within the Department of Health Professions. The bill renames the Board of Nursing Home Administrators as the Board of Long-Term Care Administrators. The licensing provisions shall not take effect until July 1, 2007. The Board of Long-Term Care Administrators shall submit the proposed criteria for licensing assisted living facility administrators to the chairmen of the House Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions, Senate Committee on Education and Health, and Joint Commission on Health Care on or before January 1, 2006. The bill permits the Commissioner to issue an order of summary suspension of a license to operate an assisted living facility and adult day care center in cases of immediate and substantial threat to the health, safety, and welfare of residents or participants. The bill increases the maximum civil penalties for assisted living facilities from $500 to $10,000 per inspection and directs that the civil penalties be paid to the newly created Assisted Living Facility Education and Technical Assistance Fund to provide education for staff of and technical assistance to assisted living facilities. This bill has been incorporated into SB 1183.
Patron - Puller

F SB1212

Assisted Living Facilities licensing; auxiliary grant residents required. Requires assisted living facilities to care for a minimum of two residents who receive auxiliary grants in order to be licensed to operate such facility. The Virginia auxiliary grant program provides assistance to certain individuals ineligible for benefits under Title XVI of the Social Security Act and to certain individuals whose benefits under the Act are not sufficient to maintain the minimum standards of need established by the Board of Social Services. Current law does not require licensed assisted living facilities to care for auxiliary grant recipients. This bill has been incorporated into SB 1183.
Patron - Miller

F SB1316

Permanent foster care placements. Permits local departments of social services or licensed child-placing agencies pursuant to court order to place a child over whom it has legal custody in a permanent foster care placement that is a licensed children's residential facility. Current law requires such placement to be a residence of a natural person.
Patron - Deeds

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