Children; petitions for relief of care & custody, investigation by local dept. of social services.
HB1733 amends Virginia law governing petitions for relief of the care and custody of a child. The bill requires that such requests be referred first to the local department of social services for investigation and possible services, and it directs the department to involve the local family assessment and planning team and prepare a written report on the child and family. It also preserves the court process for hearing the petition, appointing a guardian ad litem, notifying interested parties, and allowing the court to issue protective, custody, service, or dispositional orders based on the evidence presented.
The bill also adds new administrative and study requirements. The Department of Social Services, working with the Virginia League of Social Services Executives, must create a template for the required written report, including family background, medical and mental health history, educational and legal history, relatives and fictive kin, and services offered. In addition, the Office of the Children's Ombudsman must convene a work group to identify factors courts should consider when deciding whether there is good cause to grant relief of custody, and to study whether the evidentiary standard for temporary custody relief should be raised from preponderance of the evidence to clear and convincing evidence. The amended custody provisions take effect January 1, 2026.
HB1733 amends Code of Virginia § 16.1-277.02 and affects juvenile and domestic relations court proceedings involving petitions for relief of a child’s care and custody, including cases that may lead to temporary custody transfers, foster care placement, or termination of residual parental rights. It also creates a statewide reporting template requirement for local departments of social services and establishes a mandated work group process through the Office of the Children's Ombudsman, with a report due to legislative and youth-policy leaders by November 1, 2025.
The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial in the legislative process. It advanced unanimously through a subcommittee, full committee, and both chambers, with no recorded dissenting votes at any stage. The unanimous votes suggest general agreement that the bill improves the handling of child custody-relief petitions and adds needed structure to social services investigations and court decision-making.
There was little visible opposition in the recorded votes, but the bill does identify an area of policy interest that may be debated later: whether the standard for granting temporary relief of custody should remain a preponderance of the evidence or be raised to clear and convincing evidence. The work group created by the bill is specifically tasked with studying that issue, indicating that judges, social services officials, and other stakeholders may differ on how much proof should be required before a court grants temporary custody relief. Another practical point of focus is the scope and detail of the required social services report, including the collection of medical, mental health, educational, and kinship information.