An Act to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 63.2-901.2, relating to kinship foster care; barrier crime waiver.
HB632 creates a new process for kinship foster homes to seek a barrier crime waiver when a prospective kinship foster parent or adult household member has a disqualifying criminal conviction. Under the bill, a local department may apply to the Department of Social Services for a waiver only if the conviction is not a federal barrier crime, a violent felony, or an offense requiring sex offender registration. If a kinship foster home is rejected because of a barrier crime, the Department must notify the applicant of the waiver process.
Before applying, the local department must assess several factors, including the type and number of convictions, the time since the last conviction, the relationship between the offense and the person’s ability to care for children, evidence of rehabilitation, and community opinions. The department must also determine that placement would be safe, that there are no safety concerns, and that the placement would support the child’s permanency goals and best interests. The Department of Social Services then reviews the application and either approves or denies the waiver.
The bill adds § 63.2-901.2 to the Code of Virginia and changes how kinship foster placements are screened when barrier crimes are present in a household. It does not eliminate barrier crime restrictions, but it creates a formal waiver pathway for certain non-federal, non-violent, non-registration offenses, shifting some discretion to local departments and the Department of Social Services. The act also requires DSS to adopt implementing regulations, exempts the initial rulemaking from the Administrative Process Act, and mandates annual reporting to legislative committees on waiver activity and outcomes.
The available record shows no committee transcript or recorded votes, so there is no direct evidence of floor or committee debate. Based on the enacted text, the bill appears designed to balance child safety with placement flexibility for relatives and kinship caregivers, suggesting a policy approach that is protective but not absolute. The inclusion of a waiver process and reporting requirements indicates an intent to allow case-by-case review rather than automatic disqualification in every instance.
The main point of contention likely concerns how to weigh child safety against the need to preserve kinship placements for children in foster care. Supporters would likely emphasize that relatives can provide stable, familiar homes and that older or less serious convictions should not automatically bar placement if the person is otherwise fit to care for a child. Opponents or cautious reviewers would likely focus on the risk of approving homes with criminal histories, especially where the offense history may reflect ongoing safety concerns. The bill addresses that tension by excluding the most serious categories of crimes from waiver eligibility and requiring local and state-level review before approval.