HB 1490: Child abuse or neglect; establishes centralized hotline for reports or complaints, report. - Virginia

Social Services Subcommittee Substitute → Rehabilitation and Social Services Substitute · 6 edits

MODERATE

This bill shifts legislative authority from the House to the Senate and significantly expands the Department of Social Services' powers. It introduces new definitions for child abuse and adult protection, establishes a new mechanism for the Commissioner to enforce corrective action plans against local boards, and adds provisions for a comprehensive study of child protective services intake processes.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from focusing solely on child abuse reporting timelines to include broader definitions of abuse/neglect, adult protective services, and new enforcement tools for the state Commissioner over local departments.

DEFINITION

Added extensive new definitions for terms like 'abused or neglected child,' 'adult abuse,' 'adult exploitation,' and 'qualified residential treatment program' to clarify legal standards.

ENFORCEMENT

Created new sections granting the Commissioner authority to create and enforce corrective action plans against local boards that fail to comply with laws or pose risks to children and adults.

REQUIREMENT

Added a requirement for a comprehensive third-party study of child protective services screening processes to identify best practices and improve intake efficiency.

Established a Social Services Task Force to review benefit administration, funding sources, and the CommonHelp platform to improve user experience and reduce costs.

TIMELINE

Changed the effective date for new definitions and enforcement powers to July 1, 2026, while delaying the repeal of an existing section until a subsequent session.

SCOPE

Broadened the bill's scope to include adult protective services and adult foster care, expanding beyond the original focus on children.

Enrolled → Health and Human Services Substitute · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was converted from an 'Enrolled' final version into a 'House Substitute' version, which means it is being returned to the legislature for further review and modification by the House Committee on Health and Human Services. The substantive legal text regarding child abuse reporting, confidentiality, and data privacy appears identical in both versions, but the procedural status has changed from final law to a draft proposal.

Scope change

The bill's scope and applicability remain unchanged; the only difference is its legislative status, moving from a finalized act to a substitute version pending further committee action.

TIMELINE

Removed the 'Enrolled' status and specific approval date, indicating the bill is no longer final law and is back in the legislative process.

TECHNICAL

Added header information identifying the document as a 'Substitute' proposed by the House Committee on Health and Human Services with Delegate Tran as the patron.

Replaced the original bill title with a new title reflecting the committee's proposed amendments, though the underlying legal sections listed remain the same.

Removed the original bill's specific effective date (July 1, 2027) and chapter number from the header, as these details may be adjusted during the substitute process.

Introduced → Enrolled · 6 edits · Apr 13, 2026

MODERATE

This bill updates Virginia's child protection laws to modernize privacy policies, clarify reporting duties for employees accused of abuse, and establish a public accountability system for tracking abuse cases. It also creates a specific requirement for local departments to respond to reports involving children under three years old within 24 hours. The changes aim to improve transparency, ensure timely responses for the most vulnerable children, and protect the privacy of personal data held by government agencies.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of reporting requirements by adding a specific 24-hour response mandate for infants and toddlers under three years of age, while also clarifying procedures for handling complaints against local department employees.

REQUIREMENT

Local departments must now respond to valid reports of abuse or neglect involving children under three years old within 24 hours of receiving the report.

A new section clarifies that complaints against local department employees suspected of abusing a child must be routed through the state Department's intake system and assigned to an impartial local department or the court services unit.

A new public accountability system is created to collect and publish annual statistics on the number of abuse reports, investigations, and outcomes by locality.

Updated the list of mandatory reporters to include behavior analysts and expanded the definition of who must report suspected abuse to include more specific categories of professionals and volunteers.

Repealed the previous section regarding centralized intake to replace it with the new, more detailed procedures for handling employee complaints and the new accountability system.

DEFINITION

Added specific criteria for when a report involving substance-exposed infants or fetal alcohol spectrum disorder constitutes a valid report of abuse or neglect.

Rehabilitation and Social Services Substitute → Finance and Appropriations Substitute · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was amended to shift from a focus on rehabilitation and social services to a broader focus on finance and appropriations. The primary substantive change is the removal of several sections regarding the Virginia Retirement System, the Department of Taxation, and the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, which previously allowed these agencies to share personal data under specific circumstances. The bill now focuses exclusively on child protective services, privacy policies for public websites, and the administration of social services.

Scope change

The bill's scope was narrowed by removing provisions that authorized data sharing between the Department of Social Services, the Virginia Retirement System, the Department of Taxation, and the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. The remaining text continues to govern child abuse reporting, privacy standards, and the Department of Social Services' authority.

SCOPE

Provisions allowing the Virginia Retirement System, Department of Taxation, and State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to share personal information with state agencies were deleted.

The bill title and description were updated to reflect a change in committee jurisdiction from 'Rehabilitation and Social Services' to 'Finance and Appropriations'.

TECHNICAL

Formatting and line breaks were adjusted throughout the document to align with the new committee substitute structure.

Health and Human Services Substitute → Social Services Subcommittee Substitute · 1 edit

MINOR

The bill text was reformatted from a standard legislative layout to a 'House Substitute' style, which typically indicates a version modified by a committee for further review. The substantive legal content, including specific sections, definitions, and reporting requirements, remains unchanged. The primary difference is the document's presentation format rather than a change in policy.

TECHNICAL

The document layout was changed from a standard bill format to a 'House Substitute' format, likely reflecting a procedural update by the committee.

Child abuse or neglect; establishes centralized hotline for reports or complaints, report.

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