                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

CHILDREN IN NEED OF SERVICES (§ 16.1-278.4)

If a child is found to be in need of services or a status offender, the juvenile
court or the circuit court may make any of the following orders of disposition
for the supervision, care and rehabilitation 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.

3. Order the parent with whom the child is living to participate in such
programs, cooperate in such treatment or be subject to such conditions and
limitations as the court may order and as are designed for the rehabilitation of
the child and his parent.

4. Beginning July 1, 1992, in the case of any child fourteen years of age or
older, where the court finds that the child is not able to benefit appreciably
from further schooling, the court may excuse the child from further compliance
with any legal requirement of compulsory school attendance as provided under
&#xA7; 22.1-254 or authorize the child, notwithstanding the provisions of any
other law, to be employed in any occupation which is not legally declared
hazardous for children under the age of eighteen.

5. 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.

6. Transfer legal custody to any of the following:
			a. A relative or other individual who, after study, is found by the court to
be qualified to receive and care for the child;
			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. The
court shall not transfer legal custody of a child in need of services 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 fourteen 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 subdivision 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 subdivision
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;

7. Require the child to participate in a public service project under such
conditions as the court prescribes.

HISTORY: 1991, c. 534; 1994, c. 865; 1997, c. 463; 1999, cc. 488, 552; 2002, c.
747; 2017, c. 190; 2022, c. 305.