                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

ACCEPTING CHILDREN FOR PLACEMENT IN HOMES, FACILITIES, ETC., BY LOCAL BOARDS (§
63.2-900)

A. Pursuant to &#xA7; 63.2-319, a local board shall have the right to accept for
placement in suitable family homes, children&#8217;s residential facilities or
independent living arrangements, subject to the supervision of the Commissioner
and in accordance with regulations adopted by the Board, such persons under 18
years of age as may be entrusted to it by the parent, parents or guardian,
committed by any court of competent jurisdiction, or placed through an agreement
between it and the parent, parents or guardians where legal custody remains with
the parent, parents, or guardians.
			The Board shall adopt regulations for the provision of foster care services
by local boards, which shall be directed toward the prevention of unnecessary
foster care placements and towards the immediate care of and permanent planning
for children in the custody of or placed by local boards and that shall achieve,
as quickly as practicable, permanent placements for such children. The local
board shall first seek out kinship care options to keep children out of foster
care and as a placement option for those children in foster care, if it is in
the child&#8217;s best interests, pursuant to &#xA7; 63.2-900.1. In cases in
which a child cannot be returned to his prior family or placed for adoption and
kinship care is not currently in the best interests of the child, the local
board shall consider the placement and services that afford the best alternative
for protecting the child&#8217;s welfare. Placements may include but are not
limited to family foster care, treatment foster care, and residential care;
however, the local board shall seek to place the child with a foster family
within the locality of the local board or a nearby locality through the
collaborative local board placement program set forth in subsection F, provided
that such placement is in the best interests of the child. Services may include
but are not limited to assessment and stabilization, diligent family search,
intensive in-home, intensive wraparound, respite, mentoring, family mentoring,
adoption support, supported adoption, crisis stabilization or other
community-based services. The Board shall also approve in foster care policy the
language of the agreement required in &#xA7; 63.2-902. The agreement shall
include at a minimum a Code of Ethics and mutual responsibilities for all
parties to the agreement.
			Within 30 days of accepting for foster care placement a person under 18 years
of age whose father is unknown, the local board shall request a search of the
Virginia Birth Father Registry established pursuant to Article 7 (&#xA7;
63.2-1249 et seq.) of Chapter 12 to determine whether any man has registered as
the putative father of the child. If the search results indicate that a man has
registered as the putative father of the child, the local board shall contact
the man to begin the process to determine paternity.
			The local board shall, in accordance with the regulations adopted by the
Board and in accordance with the entrustment agreement or other order by which
such person is entrusted or committed to its care, have custody and control of
the person so entrusted or committed to it until he is lawfully discharged, has
been adopted or has attained his majority.
			Whenever a local board places a child where legal custody remains with the
parent, parents or guardians, the board shall enter into an agreement with the
parent, parents or guardians. The agreement shall specify the responsibilities
of each for the care and control of the child.
			The local board shall have authority to place for adoption, and to consent to
the adoption of, any child properly committed or entrusted to its care when the
order of commitment or entrustment agreement between the parent or parents and
the agency provides for the termination of all parental rights and
responsibilities with respect to the child for the purpose of placing and
consenting to the adoption of the child.
			The local board shall also have the right to accept temporary custody of any
person under 18 years of age taken into custody pursuant to subdivision B of
&#xA7; 16.1-246 or &#xA7; 63.2-1517. The placement of a child in a foster home,
whether within or without the Commonwealth, shall not be for the purpose of
adoption unless the placement agreement between the foster parents and the local
board specifically so stipulates.

B. Prior to the approval of any family for placement of a child, a home study
shall be completed and the prospective foster or adoptive parents shall be
informed that information about shaken baby syndrome, its effects, and resources
for help and support for caretakers is available on a website maintained by the
Department as prescribed in regulations adopted by the Board. Home studies by
local boards and licensed child-placing agencies shall be conducted in
accordance with the Mutual Family Assessment home study template and any addenda
thereto developed by the Department. All home studies, including all related
approval documentation other than background checks, conducted pursuant to this
section, whether by a local board or a licensed child-placing agency, shall be
transferable between all localities, local boards, and licensed child-placing
agencies within the Commonwealth at the request of the prospective foster
parent, subject to any time limitations or other requirements imposed by law or
regulation.

C. Prior to placing any such child in any foster home or children&#8217;s
residential facility, the local board shall enter into a written agreement with
the foster parents, pursuant to &#xA7; 63.2-902, or other appropriate custodian
setting forth therein the conditions under which the child is so placed pursuant
to &#xA7; 63.2-902. However, if a child is placed in a children&#8217;s
residential facility licensed as a temporary emergency shelter, and a verbal
agreement for placement is secured within eight hours of the child&#8217;s
arrival at the facility, the written agreement does not need to be entered into
prior to placement, but shall be completed and signed by the local board and the
facility representative within 24 hours of the child&#8217;s arrival or by the
end of the next business day after the child&#8217;s arrival.
			Agreements entered into pursuant to this subsection shall include a statement
by the local board that all reasonably ascertainable background, medical, and
psychological records of the child, including whether the child has been the
subject of an investigation as the perpetrator of sexual abuse, have been
provided to the foster home or children&#8217;s residential facility.

D. Within 72 hours of placing a child of school age in a foster care placement,
as defined in &#xA7; 63.2-100, the local social services agency making such
placement shall, in writing, (i) notify the principal of the school in which the
student is to be enrolled and the superintendent of the relevant school division
or his designee of such placement, and (ii) inform the principal of the status
of the parental rights.
			If the documents required for enrollment of the foster child pursuant to
&#xA7; 22.1-3.1, 22.1-270 or 22.1-271.2, are not immediately available upon
taking the child into custody, the placing social services agency shall obtain
and produce or otherwise ensure compliance with such requirements for the foster
child within 30 days after the child&#8217;s enrollment.

E. Every local board shall submit to the Department through its statewide
automated system the names of all foster parents licensed to provide foster care
services in the locality served by the local board and update such list
quarterly.

F. The Department shall establish and implement a collaborative local board
placement program to increase kinship placements and the number of locally
approved foster homes. Such program shall require local boards within each
Department of Social Services region to work collaboratively to (i) facilitate
approval of kinship foster parents through engagement, assessment, and training
and (ii) expand the pool of available foster homes within and across the
localities of such local boards.

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 63-73; 1952, c. 409; 1960, c. 331; 1968, cc. 466, 578, §
63.1-56; 1975, cc. 248, 406; 1977, cc. 559, 562, 634, 645; 1978, c. 734; 1984,
c. 734; 1986, c. 281; 1991, c. 34; 1994, c. 865; 1999, c. 889; 2002, c. 747;
2004, c. 70; 2005, cc. 343, 653; 2006, c. 360; 2008, cc. 241, 308; 2010, c. 551;
2011, cc. 9, 170; 2015, c. 531; 2017, cc. 193, 200; 2018, c. 694; 2019, c. 446;
2022, Sp. Sess. I, c. 10; 2023, c. 340.