Virginia Code 16.1-282.2: Annual foster care review.
A. The court shall review a foster care plan annually for any child who remains in the legal custody of a local board of social services or a child welfare agency and (i) on whose behalf a petition to terminate parental rights has been granted, filed or ordered to be filed, (ii) who is placed in permanent foster care, or (iii) who is age 16 or over and for whom the plan is independent living. The foster care review hearing shall be scheduled at the conclusion of a hearing held pursuant to § 16.1-281, 16.1-282, or 16.1-282.1 at which the order is entered: terminating parental rights, directing the filing of a petition for termination of parental rights by the board or agency, placing the child in permanent foster care, or directing the board or agency to provide the child who is age 16 or over and for whom the plan is independent living with services to transition from foster care. The foster care review hearing shall be held within 12 months of the date of such order, so long as the child remains in the custody of the board or agency.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 16.1-282.2
- Child welfare agency: means a child-placing agency, child-caring institution or independent foster home as defined in § Virginia Code 16.1-228
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Legal custody: means (i) a legal status created by court order which vests in a custodian the right to have physical custody of the child, to determine and redetermine where and with whom he shall live, the right and duty to protect, train and discipline him and to provide him with food, shelter, education and ordinary medical care, all subject to any residual parental rights and responsibilities or (ii) the legal status created by court order of joint custody as defined in § Virginia Code 16.1-228
- Parent: includes parent, guardian, legal custodian, or other person standing in loco parentis. See Virginia Code 16.1-278.1
- Qualified residential treatment program: means a program that (i) provides 24-hour residential placement services for children in foster care; (ii) has adopted a trauma-informed treatment model that meets the clinical and other needs of children with serious emotional or behavioral disorders, including any clinical or other needs identified through assessments conducted pursuant to clause (viii) of this definition; (iii) employs registered or licensed nursing and other clinical staff who provide care, on site and within the scope of their practice, and are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week; (iv) conducts outreach with the child's family members, including efforts to maintain connections between the child and his siblings and other family; documents and maintains records of such outreach efforts; and maintains contact information for any known biological family and fictive kin of the child; (v) whenever appropriate and in the best interest of the child, facilitates participation by family members in the child's treatment program before and after discharge and documents the manner in which such participation is facilitated; (vi) provides discharge planning and family-based aftercare support for at least six months after discharge; (vii) is licensed in accordance with Virginia Code 16.1-228
- State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
The board or agency shall file the petition for a foster care review hearing, and the court shall provide notice of the foster care review hearing in accordance with the provisions of § 16.1-282. The board or agency shall file a written Adoption Progress Report with the juvenile court pursuant to § 16.1-277.01, 16.1-277.02, 16.1-278.3, or 16.1-283, if applicable, with the petition required by this section. The court order entered at the conclusion of the hearing held on the petition shall state whether reasonable efforts have been made to place the child in a timely manner in accordance with the approved foster care plan that established a permanent goal for the child and to complete the steps necessary to finalize the permanent placement of the child.
B. At the foster care review hearing in the case of a child who is placed in permanent foster care, the court shall give consideration to the appropriateness of the services being provided to the child and permanent foster parents, to any change in circumstances since the entry of the order placing the child in permanent foster care, and to such other factors as the court deems proper.
C. At the foster care review hearing in the case of a child who meets the criteria of subdivisions A 1 through 4 of § 16.1-283.2, the court shall inquire of the guardian ad litem and the local board of social services whether the child has expressed a preference that the possibility of restoring the parental rights of his parent or parents be investigated. If the child expresses or has expressed such a preference, the court shall direct the local board of social services or the child’s guardian ad litem to conduct an investigation of the parent or parents. If, following such investigation, the local board of social services or the child’s guardian ad litem deems it appropriate to do so, either may file a petition for the restoration of parental rights. A hearing on such petition shall be held as provided by § 16.1-283.2.
D. In cases in which a child is placed by the local board of social services or a licensed child-placing agency in a qualified residential treatment program as defined in § 16.1-228, the provisions of subsection E of § 16.1-281 shall apply to any hearing held pursuant to this section.
2002, c. 512; 2008, cc. 475, 483; 2018, c. 104; 2019, cc. 282, 688.