                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

ABUSED, NEGLECTED, OR ABANDONED CHILDREN OR CHILDREN WITHOUT PARENTAL CARE (§
16.1-278.2)

A. Within 60 days of a preliminary removal order hearing held pursuant to §
16.1-252 or a hearing on a preliminary protective order held pursuant to §
16.1-253, a dispositional hearing shall be held if the court found abuse or
neglect and (i) removed the child from his home or (ii) entered a preliminary
protective order. Notice of the dispositional hearing shall be provided to the
child&#8217;s parent, guardian, legal custodian, or other person standing in
loco parentis in accordance with § 16.1-263. The hearing shall be held and a
dispositional order may be entered, although a parent, guardian, legal
custodian, or person standing in loco parentis fails to appear and is not
represented by counsel, provided personal or substituted service was made on the
person, or the court determines that such person cannot be found, after
reasonable effort, or in the case of a person who is without the Commonwealth,
the person cannot be found or his post office address cannot be ascertained
after reasonable effort. Notice shall also be provided to the local department
of social services, the guardian ad litem and, if appointed, the court-appointed
special advocate.
			If a child is found to be (a) abused or neglected; (b) at risk of being
abused or neglected by a parent or custodian who has been adjudicated as having
abused or neglected another child in his care; or (c) abandoned by his parent or
other custodian, or without parental care and guardianship because of his
parent&#8217;s absence or physical or mental incapacity, the juvenile court or
the circuit court may make any of the following orders of disposition to protect
the welfare of the child:

   1. Enter an order pursuant to the provisions of &#xA7; 16.1-278;

   2. Permit the child to remain with his parent, subject to such conditions and
   limitations as the court may order with respect to such child and his parent
   or other adult occupant of the same dwelling;

   3. Prohibit or limit contact as the court deems appropriate between the child
   and his parent or other adult occupant of the same dwelling whose presence
   tends to endanger the child&#8217;s life, health or normal development. The
   prohibition may exclude any such individual from the home under such
   conditions as the court may prescribe for a period to be determined by the
   court but in no event for longer than 180 days from the date of such
   determination. A hearing shall be held within 150 days to determine further
   disposition of the matter that may include limiting or prohibiting contact for
   another 180 days;

   4. Permit the local board of social services or a public agency designated by
   the community policy and management team to place the child, subject to the
   provisions of &#xA7; 16.1-281, in suitable family homes, child-caring
   institutions, residential facilities, or independent living arrangements with
   legal custody remaining with the parents or guardians. The local board or
   public agency and the parents or guardians shall enter into an agreement which
   shall specify the responsibilities of each for the care and control of the
   child. The board or public agency that places the child shall have the final
   authority to determine the appropriate placement for the child. Nothing herein
   shall limit the authority of the court to review the child&#8217;s status in
   foster care in accordance with subsection G of &#xA7; 16.1-281 or to review
   the foster care plan through a petition filed pursuant to subsection A of
   &#xA7; 16.1-282.
   				Any order allowing a local board or public agency to place a child where
   legal custody remains with the parents or guardians as provided in this
   section shall be entered only upon a finding by the court that reasonable
   efforts have been made to prevent placement out of the home and that continued
   placement in the home would be contrary to the welfare of the child; and the
   order shall so state.

   5. After a finding that there is no less drastic alternative, transfer legal
   custody, subject to the provisions of &#xA7; 16.1-281, to any of the
   following:
   				a. A person with a legitimate interest subject to the provisions of
   subsection A1;
   				b. A child welfare agency, private organization or facility that is
   licensed or otherwise authorized by law to receive and provide care for such
   child; however, a court shall not transfer legal custody of an abused or
   neglected child to an agency, organization or facility out of the Commonwealth
   without the approval of the Commissioner of Social Services; or
   				c. The local board of social services of the county or city in which the
   court has jurisdiction or, at the discretion of the court, to the local board
   of the county or city in which the child has residence if other than the
   county or city in which the court has jurisdiction. The local board shall
   accept the child for care and custody, provided that it has been given
   reasonable notice of the pendency of the case and an opportunity to be heard.
   However, in an emergency in the county or city in which the court has
   jurisdiction, the local board may be required to accept a child for a period
   not to exceed 14 days without prior notice or an opportunity to be heard if
   the judge entering the placement order describes the emergency and the need
   for such temporary placement in the order. Nothing in this section shall
   prohibit the commitment of a child to any local board of social services in
   the Commonwealth when the local board consents to the commitment. The board to
   which the child is committed shall have the final authority to determine the
   appropriate placement for the child. Nothing herein shall limit the authority
   of the court to review the child&#8217;s status in foster care in accordance
   with subsection G of &#xA7; 16.1-281 or to review the foster care plan through
   a petition filed pursuant to subsection A of &#xA7; 16.1-282.
   				Any order authorizing removal from the home and transferring legal custody
   of a child to a local board of social services as provided in this section
   shall be entered only upon a finding by the court that reasonable efforts have
   been made to prevent removal and that continued placement in the home would be
   contrary to the welfare of the child; and the order shall so state.
   				A finding by the court that reasonable efforts were made to prevent
   removal of the child from his home shall not be required if the court finds
   that (i) the residual parental rights of the parent regarding a sibling of the
   child have previously been involuntarily terminated; (ii) the parent has been
   convicted of an offense under the laws of the Commonwealth or a substantially
   similar law of any other state, the United States, or any foreign jurisdiction
   that constitutes murder or voluntary manslaughter, or a felony attempt,
   conspiracy, or solicitation to commit any such offense, if the victim of the
   offense was a child of the parent, a child with whom the parent resided at the
   time such offense occurred, or the other parent of the child; (iii) the parent
   has been convicted of an offense under the laws of the Commonwealth or a
   substantially similar law of any other state, the United States, or any
   foreign jurisdiction that constitutes felony assault resulting in serious
   bodily injury or felony bodily wounding resulting in serious bodily injury or
   felony sexual assault, if the victim of the offense was a child of the parent
   or a child with whom the parent resided at the time of such offense; or (iv)
   on the basis of clear and convincing evidence, the parent has subjected any
   child to aggravated circumstances, or abandoned a child under circumstances
   that would justify the termination of residual parental rights pursuant to
   subsection D of &#xA7; 16.1-283.
   				As used in this section:
   				&#8220;Aggravated circumstances&#8221; means torture, chronic or severe
   abuse, or chronic or severe sexual abuse, if the victim of such conduct was a
   child of the parent or child with whom the parent resided at the time such
   conduct occurred, including the failure to protect such a child from such
   conduct, which conduct or failure to protect (i) evinces a wanton or depraved
   indifference to human life or (ii) has resulted in the death of such a child
   or in serious bodily injury to such a child.
   				&#8220;Chronic abuse&#8221; or &#8220;chronic sexual abuse&#8221; means
   recurring acts of physical abuse that place the child&#8217;s health, safety
   and well-being at risk.
   				&#8220;Serious bodily injury&#8221; means bodily injury that involves
   substantial risk of death, extreme physical pain, protracted and obvious
   disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily
   member, organ or mental faculty.
   				&#8220;Severe abuse&#8221; or &#8220;severe sexual abuse&#8221; may
   include an act or omission that occurred only once but otherwise meets the
   definition of &#8220;aggravated circumstances.&#8221;

   6. Transfer legal custody pursuant to subdivision 5 of this section and order
   the parent to participate in such services and programs or to refrain from
   such conduct as the court may prescribe; or

   7. Terminate the rights of the parent pursuant to &#xA7; 16.1-283.

A1. Any order transferring custody of the child to a person with a legitimate
interest pursuant to subdivision A 5 a shall be entered only upon a finding,
based upon a preponderance of the evidence, that such person is one who, after
an investigation as directed by the court, (i) is found by the court to be
willing and qualified to receive and care for the child; (ii) is willing to have
a positive, continuous relationship with the child; (iii) is committed to
providing a permanent, suitable home for the child; and (iv) is willing and has
the ability to protect the child from abuse and neglect; and the order shall so
state. The court&#8217;s order transferring custody to a person with a
legitimate interest should further provide for, as appropriate, any terms or
conditions which would promote the child&#8217;s interest and welfare; ongoing
provision of social services to the child and the child&#8217;s custodian; and
court review of the child&#8217;s placement.

B. If the child has been placed in foster care, at the dispositional hearing the
court shall review the foster care plan for the child filed in accordance with
&#xA7; 16.1-281 by the local department of social services, a public agency
designated by the community policy and management team which places a child
through an agreement with the parents or guardians where legal custody remains
with the parents or guardians, or child welfare agency.

C. Any preliminary protective orders entered on behalf of the child shall be
reviewed at the dispositional hearing and may be incorporated, as appropriate,
in the dispositional order.

D. A dispositional order entered pursuant to this section is a final order from
which an appeal may be taken in accordance with &#xA7; 16.1-296.

HISTORY: 1991, c. 534; 1994, c. 865; 1997, c. 790; 2000, c. 385; 2002, c. 747;
2013, c. 130; 2017, c. 190; 2019, c. 434; 2022, c. 305.