Local boards & departments; DSS to create corrective action plans & assumption of temporary control.

Removed the entire 'Definitions' section that legally defined what constitutes an 'abused or neglected child,' including specific scenarios like substance abuse during pregnancy and leaving children with convicted offenders.

Changed the bill's title and committee assignment from 'Rehabilitation and Social Services' to 'Finance and Appropriations,' indicating a shift in legislative priority from social welfare policy to budgetary oversight.

Deleted the requirement for a centralized, 24/7 child abuse hotline and the duties of local departments to respond to complaints immediately.

Removed the requirement for local departments to notify law enforcement and attorneys for the Commonwealth of serious abuse cases (such as death or sexual abuse) within two hours.

Eliminated the 'Virginia Child Protection Accountability System,' which was designed to publicly report statistics on abuse complaints, investigations, and court outcomes.

Removed the mandate requiring local departments to respond to abuse reports involving children under age three within 24 hours.

Deleted definitions for critical terms such as 'child-protective services,' 'foster care,' 'independent living,' and 'qualified residential treatment program.'

The document structure was changed to include page numbers, session headers, and a 'House Substitute' title, while the actual legal text and section numbers were preserved without modification.

Removed the header indicating the bill was 'Enrolled' and 'Approved', which signifies it has passed all legislative stages.

Added header text identifying the document as an 'Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute' offered by the House Committee on Health and Human Services.

Removed the original bill title and preamble text that appeared before the main legislative sections.

Reformatted the document layout to match the standard substitute bill format, including page numbers and committee attribution.

Added specific definitions for 'adult abuse', 'adult exploitation', and 'adult neglect' to clarify protections for vulnerable adults.

Modified the definition of 'abused or neglected child' to explicitly include children exposed to drug manufacturing/sales and victims of sex trafficking.

Added new requirements clarifying that allowing a child to engage in age-appropriate independent activities (like walking to school) does not automatically constitute neglect.

Created new sections (63.2-203.1 and 63.2-319.1) granting the State Commissioner the authority to create corrective action plans for non-compliant local boards and to temporarily assume control of local operations and funds if those plans fail.

Added provisions ensuring that local funding levels remain stable when the state temporarily takes over local services and requiring localities to pay for costs associated with aligning services with state laws.