                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

CHILDREN IN NEED OF SERVICES (§ 16.1-278.4)

If a child is found to be in need of services or a status offender, the juvenile
court or the circuit court may make any of the following orders of disposition
for the supervision, care and rehabilitation of the child:

1. Enter an order pursuant to the provisions of &#xA7; 16.1-278.

2. Permit the child to remain with his parent subject to such conditions and
limitations as the court may order with respect to such child and his parent.

3. Order the parent with whom the child is living to participate in such
programs, cooperate in such treatment or be subject to such conditions and
limitations as the court may order and as are designed for the rehabilitation of
the child and his parent.

4. Beginning July 1, 1992, in the case of any child fourteen years of age or
older, where the court finds that the child is not able to benefit appreciably
from further schooling, the court may excuse the child from further compliance
with any legal requirement of compulsory school attendance as provided under
&#xA7; 22.1-254 or authorize the child, notwithstanding the provisions of any
other law, to be employed in any occupation which is not legally declared
hazardous for children under the age of eighteen.

5. Permit the local board of social services or a public agency designated by
the community policy and management team to place the child, subject to the
provisions of &#xA7; 16.1-281, in suitable family homes, child
caring-institutions, residential facilities, or independent living arrangements
with legal custody remaining with the parents or guardians. The local board or
public agency and the parents or guardians shall enter into an agreement which
shall specify the responsibilities of each for the care and control of the
child. The board or public agency that places the child shall have the final
authority to determine the appropriate placement for the child. Nothing herein
shall limit the authority of the court to review the child&#8217;s status in
foster care in accordance with subsection G of &#xA7; 16.1-281 or to review the
foster care plan through a petition filed pursuant to subsection A of &#xA7;
16.1-282.
			Any order allowing a local board or public agency to place a child where
legal custody remains with the parents or guardians as provided in this section
shall be entered only upon a finding by the court that reasonable efforts have
been made to prevent placement out of the home and that continued placement in
the home would be contrary to the welfare of the child, and the order shall so
state.

6. Transfer legal custody to any of the following:
			a. A relative or other individual who, after study, is found by the court to
be qualified to receive and care for the child;			b. A child welfare agency,
private organization or facility that is licensed or otherwise authorized by law
to receive and provide care for such child. The court shall not transfer legal
custody of a child in need of services to an agency, organization or facility
out of the Commonwealth without the approval of the Commissioner of Social
Services; or			c. The local board of social services of the county or city in
which the court has jurisdiction or, at the discretion of the court, to the
local board of the county or city in which the child has residence if other than
the county or city in which the court has jurisdiction. The local board shall
accept the child for care and custody, provided that it has been given
reasonable notice of the pendency of the case and an opportunity to be heard.
However, in an emergency in the county or city in which the court has
jurisdiction, the local board may be required to accept a child for a period not
to exceed fourteen days without prior notice or an opportunity to be heard if
the judge entering the placement order describes the emergency and the need for
such temporary placement in the order. Nothing in this subdivision shall
prohibit the commitment of a child to any local board of social services in the
Commonwealth when the local board consents to the commitment. The board to which
the child is committed shall have the final authority to determine the
appropriate placement for the child. Nothing herein shall limit the authority of
the court to review the child&#8217;s status in foster care in accordance with
subsection G of &#xA7; 16.1-281 or to review the foster care plan through a
petition filed pursuant to subsection A of &#xA7; 16.1-282.			Any order
authorizing removal from the home and transferring legal custody of a child to a
local board of social services as provided in this subdivision shall be entered
only upon a finding by the court that reasonable efforts have been made to
prevent removal and that continued placement in the home would be contrary to
the welfare of the child, and the order shall so state.			A finding by the court
that reasonable efforts were made to prevent removal of the child from his home
shall not be required if the court finds 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) on the basis of clear and convincing evidence, the parent
has subjected any child to aggravated circumstances, or abandoned a child under
circumstances that would justify the termination of residual parental rights
pursuant to subsection D of &#xA7; 16.1-283.			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 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 that
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;

7. Require the child to participate in a public service project under such
conditions as the court prescribes.

HISTORY: 1991, c. 534; 1994, c. 865; 1997, c. 463; 1999, cc. 488, 552; 2002, c.
747; 2017, c. 190; 2022, c. 305.