                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

TERMINATION OF RESIDUAL PARENTAL RIGHTS (§ 16.1-283)

A. The residual parental rights of a parent or parents may be terminated by the
court as hereinafter provided in a separate proceeding if the petition
specifically requests such relief. No petition seeking termination of residual
parental rights shall be accepted by the court prior to the filing of a foster
care plan, pursuant to &#xA7; 16.1-281, which documents termination of residual
parental rights as being in the best interests of the child. The court may hear
and adjudicate a petition for termination of parental rights in the same
proceeding in which the court has approved a foster care plan which documents
that termination is in the best interests of the child. The court may terminate
the residual parental rights of one parent without affecting the rights of the
other parent. The local board of social services or a licensed child-placing
agency need not have identified an available and eligible family to adopt a
child for whom termination of parental rights is being sought prior to the entry
of an order terminating parental rights.
			Any order terminating residual parental rights shall be accompanied by an
order continuing or granting custody to a local board of social services or to a
licensed child-placing agency or transferring custody to a person with a
legitimate interest. However, in such cases the court shall give a consideration
to granting custody to a person with a legitimate interest, and if custody is
not granted to a person with a legitimate interest, the judge shall communicate
to the parties the basis for such decision either orally or in writing. An order
continuing or granting custody to a local board of social services or to a
licensed child-placing agency shall indicate whether that board or agency shall
have the authority to place the child for adoption and consent thereto.
			The summons shall be served upon the parent or parents and the other parties
specified in &#xA7; 16.1-263. Written notice of the hearing shall also be
provided to the foster parents of the child, a relative providing care for the
child, and any preadoptive parents for the child informing them that they may
appear as witnesses at the hearing to give testimony and otherwise participate
in the proceeding. The persons entitled to notice and an opportunity to be heard
need not be made parties to the proceedings. The summons or notice of hearing
shall clearly state the consequences of a termination of residual parental
rights. Service shall be made pursuant to &#xA7; 16.1-264.

A1. Any order transferring custody of the child to a person with a legitimate
interest pursuant to subsection 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, as appropriate, for any terms and
conditions that would promote the child&#8217;s interest and welfare.

B. The residual parental rights of a parent or parents of a child found by the
court to be neglected or abused and placed in foster care as a result of (i)
court commitment; (ii) an entrustment agreement entered into by the parent or
parents; or (iii) other voluntary relinquishment by the parent or parents may be
terminated if the court finds, based upon clear and convincing evidence, that it
is in the best interests of the child and that:

   1. The neglect or abuse suffered by such child presented a serious and
   substantial threat to his life, health or development; and

   2. It is not reasonably likely that the conditions which resulted in such
   neglect or abuse can be substantially corrected or eliminated so as to allow
   the child&#8217;s safe return to his parent or parents within a reasonable
   period of time. In making this determination, the court shall take into
   consideration the efforts made to rehabilitate the parent or parents by any
   public or private social, medical, mental health or other rehabilitative
   agencies prior to the child&#8217;s initial placement in foster care.
   				Proof of any of the following shall constitute prima facie evidence of the
   conditions set forth in subdivision B 2:
   				a. The parent or parents have a mental or emotional illness or
   intellectual disability of such severity that there is no reasonable
   expectation that such parent will be able to undertake responsibility for the
   care needed by the child in accordance with his age and stage of development;
   				b. The parent or parents have habitually abused or are addicted to
   intoxicating liquors, narcotics or other dangerous drugs to the extent that
   proper parental ability has been seriously impaired and the parent, without
   good cause, has not responded to or followed through with recommended and
   available treatment which could have improved the capacity for adequate
   parental functioning; or
   				c. The parent or parents, without good cause, have not responded to or
   followed through with appropriate, available and reasonable rehabilitative
   efforts on the part of social, medical, mental health or other rehabilitative
   agencies designed to reduce, eliminate or prevent the neglect or abuse of the
   child.

C. The residual parental rights of a parent or parents of a child placed in
foster care as a result of court commitment, an entrustment agreement entered
into by the parent or parents or other voluntary relinquishment by the parent or
parents may be terminated if the court finds, based upon clear and convincing
evidence, that it is in the best interests of the child and that:

   1. The parent or parents have, without good cause, failed to maintain
   continuing contact with and to provide or substantially plan for the future of
   the child for a period of six months after the child&#8217;s placement in
   foster care notwithstanding the reasonable and appropriate efforts of social,
   medical, mental health or other rehabilitative agencies to communicate with
   the parent or parents and to strengthen the parent-child relationship. Proof
   that the parent or parents have failed without good cause to communicate on a
   continuing and planned basis with the child for a period of six months shall
   constitute prima facie evidence of this condition; or

   2. The parent or parents, without good cause, have been unwilling or unable
   within a reasonable period of time not to exceed 12 months from the date the
   child was placed in foster care to remedy substantially the conditions which
   led to or required continuation of the child&#8217;s foster care placement,
   notwithstanding the reasonable and appropriate efforts of social, medical,
   mental health or other rehabilitative agencies to such end. Proof that the
   parent or parents, without good cause, have failed or been unable to make
   substantial progress towards elimination of the conditions which led to or
   required continuation of the child&#8217;s foster care placement in accordance
   with their obligations under and within the time limits or goals set forth in
   a foster care plan filed with the court or any other plan jointly designed and
   agreed to by the parent or parents and a public or private social, medical,
   mental health or other rehabilitative agency shall constitute prima facie
   evidence of this condition. The court shall take into consideration the prior
   efforts of such agencies to rehabilitate the parent or parents prior to the
   placement of the child in foster care.

D. The residual parental rights of a parent or parents of a child found by the
court to be neglected or abused upon the ground of abandonment may be terminated
if the court finds, based upon clear and convincing evidence, that it is in the
best interests of the child and that:

   1. The child was abandoned under such circumstances that either the identity
   or the whereabouts of the parent or parents cannot be determined; and

   2. The child&#8217;s parent or parents, guardian, or relatives have not come
   forward to identify such child and claim a relationship to the child within
   three months following the issuance of an order by the court placing the child
   in foster care; and

   3. Diligent efforts have been made to locate the child&#8217;s parent or
   parents, guardian, or relatives without avail.

E. The residual parental rights of a parent or parents of a child who is in the
custody of a local board or licensed child-placing agency may be terminated by
the court if the court finds, based upon clear and convincing evidence, that it
is in the best interests of the child and 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) the parent has subjected any child to aggravated
circumstances.
			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 a 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 which 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;
			The local board or other child welfare agency having custody of the child
shall not be required by the court to make reasonable efforts to reunite the
child with a parent who has been convicted of one of the felonies specified in
this subsection or who has been found by the court to have subjected any child
to aggravated circumstances.

F. The local board or licensed child-placing agency to which authority is given
to place the child for adoption and consent thereto after an order terminating
parental rights is entered shall file a written Adoption Progress Report with
the juvenile court on the progress being made to place the child in an adoptive
home. The report shall be filed with the court every six months from the date of
the final order terminating parental rights until a final order of adoption is
entered on behalf of the child in the circuit court. At the conclusion of the
hearing at which termination of parental rights is ordered and authority is
given to the local board or licensed child-placing agency to place the child for
adoption, the juvenile court shall schedule a date by which the board or agency
shall file the first written Adoption Progress Report required by this section.
A copy of the Adoption Progress Report shall be sent by the court to the
guardian ad litem for the child. The court may schedule a hearing on the report
with or without the request of a party.

G. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, residual parental
rights shall not be terminated if it is established that the child, if he is 14
years of age or older or otherwise of an age of discretion as determined by the
court, objects to such termination. However, residual parental rights of a child
14 years of age or older may be terminated over the objection of the child, if
the court finds that any disability of the child reduces the child&#8217;s
developmental age and that the child is not otherwise of an age of discretion.

HISTORY: 1977, c. 559; 1978, c. 340; 1979, c. 281; 1980, c. 295; 1985, c. 584;
1987, c. 6; 1988, c. 791; 1998, c. 550; 1999, c. 889; 2000, c. 385; 2002, cc.
664, 729; 2012, cc. 476, 507; 2019, c. 434; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 535.