                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

LOCAL DEPARTMENTS TO ESTABLISH CHILD-PROTECTIVE SERVICES; DUTIES (§ 63.2-1503)

A. Each local department shall establish child-protective services under a
departmental coordinator within such department or with one or more adjacent
local departments that shall be staffed with qualified personnel pursuant to
regulations adopted by the Board. The local department shall be the public
agency responsible for receiving and responding to complaints and reports,
except that (i) in cases where the reports or complaints are to be made to the
court and the judge determines that no local department within a reasonable
geographic distance can impartially respond to the report, the court shall
assign the report to the court services unit for evaluation; and (ii) in cases
where an employee at a private or state-operated hospital, institution or other
facility, or an employee of a school board is suspected of abusing or neglecting
a child in such hospital, institution or other facility, or public school, the
local department shall request the Department and the relevant private or
state-operated hospital, institution or other facility, or school board to
assist in conducting a joint investigation in accordance with regulations
adopted by the Board, in consultation with the Departments of Education, Health,
Medical Assistance Services, Behavioral Health and Developmental Services,
Juvenile Justice and Corrections.

B. The local department shall ensure, through its own personnel or through
cooperative arrangements with other local agencies, the capability of receiving
reports or complaints and responding to them promptly on a 24-hours-a-day,
seven-days-per-week basis.

C. The local department shall widely publicize a telephone number for receiving
complaints and reports.

D. The local department shall notify the local attorney for the Commonwealth and
the local law-enforcement agency of all complaints of suspected child abuse or
neglect involving (i) any death of a child; (ii) any injury or threatened injury
to the child in which a felony or Class 1 misdemeanor is also suspected; (iii)
any sexual abuse, suspected sexual abuse or other sexual offense involving a
child, including but not limited to the use or display of the child in sexually
explicit visual material, as defined in &#xA7; 18.2-374.1; (iv) any abduction of
a child; (v) any felony or Class 1 misdemeanor drug offense involving a child;
or (vi) contributing to the delinquency of a minor in violation of &#xA7;
18.2-371, immediately, but in no case more than two hours of receipt of the
complaint, and shall provide the attorney for the Commonwealth and the local
law-enforcement agency with records and information of the local department,
including records related to any complaints of abuse or neglect involving the
victim or the alleged perpetrator, related to the investigation of the
complaint. The local department shall notify the local attorney for the
Commonwealth of all complaints of suspected child abuse or neglect involving the
child&#8217;s being left alone in the same dwelling with a person to whom the
child is not related by blood or marriage and who has been convicted of an
offense against a minor for which registration is required as a Tier III
offender pursuant to &#xA7; 9.1-902, immediately, but in no case more than two
hours of receipt of the complaint, and shall provide the attorney for the
Commonwealth with records and information of the local department that would
help determine whether a violation of post-release conditions, probation,
parole, or court order has occurred due to the nonrelative offender&#8217;s
contact with the child. The local department shall not allow reports of the
death of the victim from other local agencies to substitute for direct reports
to the attorney for the Commonwealth and the local law-enforcement agency. The
local department shall develop, when practicable, memoranda of understanding for
responding to reports of child abuse and neglect with local law enforcement and
the attorney for the Commonwealth.
			In each case in which the local department notifies the local law-enforcement
agency of a complaint pursuant to this subsection, the local department shall,
within two business days of delivery of the notification, complete a written
report, on a form provided by the Board for such purpose, which shall include
(a) the name of the representative of the local department providing notice
required by this subsection; (b) the name of the local law-enforcement officer
who received such notice; (c) the date and time that notification was made; (d)
the identity of the victim; (e) the identity of the person alleged to have
abused or neglected the child, if known; (f) the clause or clauses in this
subsection that describe the reasons for the notification; and (g) the
signatures, which may be electronic signatures, of the representatives of the
local department making the notification and the local law-enforcement officer
receiving the notification. Such report shall be included in the record of the
investigation and may be submitted either in writing or electronically.

E. When abuse or neglect is suspected in any case involving the death of a
child, the local department shall report the case immediately to the regional
medical examiner and the local law-enforcement agency.

F. The local department shall use reasonable diligence to locate (i) any child
for whom a report of suspected abuse or neglect has been received and is under
investigation, receiving family assessment, or for whom a founded determination
of abuse and neglect has been made and a child-protective services case opened
and (ii) persons who are the subject of a report that is under investigation or
receiving family assessment, if the whereabouts of the child or such persons are
unknown to the local department.

G. When an abused or neglected child and the persons who are the subject of an
open child-protective services case have relocated out of the jurisdiction of
the local department, the local department shall notify the child-protective
services agency in the jurisdiction to which such persons have relocated,
whether inside or outside of the Commonwealth, and forward to such agency
relevant portions of the case record. The receiving local department shall
arrange protective and rehabilitative services as required by this section.

H. When a child for whom a report of suspected abuse or neglect has been
received and is under investigation or receiving family assessment and the child
and the child&#8217;s parents or other persons responsible for the child&#8217;s
care who are the subject of the report that is under investigation or family
assessment have relocated out of the jurisdiction of the local department, the
local department shall notify the child-protective services agency in the
jurisdiction to which the child and such persons have relocated, whether inside
or outside of the Commonwealth, and complete such investigation or family
assessment by requesting such agency&#8217;s assistance in completing the
investigation or family assessment. The local department that completes the
investigation or family assessment shall forward to the receiving agency
relevant portions of the case record in order for the receiving agency to
arrange protective and rehabilitative services as required by this section.

I. Upon receipt of a report of child abuse or neglect, the local department
shall determine the validity of such report and shall make a determination to
conduct an investigation pursuant to &#xA7; 63.2-1505 or, if designated as a
child-protective services differential response agency by the Department
according to &#xA7; 63.2-1504, a family assessment pursuant to &#xA7; 63.2-1506.

J. The local department shall foster, when practicable, the creation,
maintenance and coordination of hospital and community-based multidisciplinary
teams that shall include where possible, but not be limited to, members of the
medical, mental health, social work, nursing, education, legal and
law-enforcement professions. Such teams shall assist the local departments in
identifying abused and neglected children; coordinating medical, social, and
legal services for the children and their families; developing innovative
programs for detection and prevention of child abuse; promoting community
concern and action in the area of child abuse and neglect; and disseminating
information to the general public with respect to the problem of child abuse and
neglect and the facilities and prevention and treatment methods available to
combat child abuse and neglect. These teams may be the family assessment and
planning teams established pursuant to &#xA7; 2.2-5207. Multidisciplinary teams
may develop agreements regarding the exchange of information among the parties
for the purposes of the investigation and disposition of complaints of child
abuse and neglect, delivery of services and child protection. Any information
exchanged in accordance with the agreement shall not be considered to be a
violation of the provisions of &#xA7; 63.2-102, 63.2-104, or 63.2-105.
			The local department shall also coordinate its efforts in the provision of
these services for abused and neglected children with the judge and staff of the
court.

K. The local department may develop multidisciplinary teams to provide
consultation to the local department during the investigation of selected cases
involving child abuse or neglect, and to make recommendations regarding the
prosecution of such cases. These teams may include, but are not limited to,
members of the medical, mental health, legal and law-enforcement professions,
including the attorney for the Commonwealth or his designee; a local
child-protective services representative; and the guardian ad litem or other
court-appointed advocate for the child. Any information exchanged for the
purpose of such consultation shall not be considered a violation of &#xA7;
63.2-102, 63.2-104, or 63.2-105.

L. The local department shall report annually on its activities concerning
abused and neglected children to the court and to the Child-Protective Services
Unit in the Department on forms provided by the Department.

M. Statements, or any evidence derived therefrom, made to local department
child-protective services personnel, or to any person performing the duties of
such personnel, by any person accused of the abuse, injury, neglect or death of
a child after the arrest of such person, shall not be used in evidence in the
case-in-chief against such person in the criminal proceeding on the question of
guilt or innocence over the objection of the accused, unless the statement was
made after such person was fully advised (i) of his right to remain silent, (ii)
that anything he says may be used against him in a court of law, (iii) that he
has a right to the presence of an attorney during any interviews, and (iv) that
if he cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for him prior to any
questioning.

N. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the local department, in
accordance with Board regulations, shall transmit information regarding reports,
complaints, family assessments, and investigations involving children of active
duty members of the United States Armed Forces or members of their household to
family advocacy representatives of the United States Armed Forces.

O. The local department shall notify the custodial parent and make reasonable
efforts to notify the noncustodial parent as those terms are defined in &#xA7;
63.2-1900 of a report of suspected abuse or neglect of a child who is the
subject of an investigation or is receiving family assessment, in those cases in
which such custodial or noncustodial parent is not the subject of the
investigation.

P. The local department shall (i) notify the Superintendent of Public
Instruction without delay when an individual holding a license issued by the
Board of Education is the subject of a founded complaint of child abuse or
neglect and shall transmit identifying information regarding such individual if
the local department knows the person holds a license issued by the Board of
Education and (ii) notify the Superintendent of Public Instruction without delay
if the founded complaint of child abuse or neglect is dismissed following an
appeal pursuant to &#xA7; 63.2-1526. Nothing in this subsection shall be
construed to affect the rights of any individual holding a license issued by the
Board of Education to any hearings or appeals otherwise provided by law. Any
information exchanged for the purpose of this subsection shall not be considered
a violation of &#xA7; 63.2-102, 63.2-104, or 63.2-105.

HISTORY: 1975, c. 341, § 63.1-248.6; 1978, c. 747; 1979, cc. 347, 348; 1984, c.
392; 1987, c. 443; 1989, cc. 109, 547; 1991, c. 644; 1992, cc. 214, 837, 880;
1993, cc. 506, 955; 1994, cc. 643, 675, 840; 1996, cc. 858, 863; 1998, cc. 704,
716; 2000, cc. 500, 854; 2002, c. 747; 2004, cc. 114, 220, 886; 2008, cc. 474,
827; 2009, cc. 813, 840; 2014, cc. 300, 565; 2017, cc. 88, 142; 2018, cc. 5,
209, 823; 2020, c. 829.