63.2-1502 - Establishment of Child-Protective Services Unit; duties. - Virginia Statutes

§ 63.2-1502. Establishment of Child-Protective Services Unit; duties.

There is created a Child-Protective Services Unit in the Department thatshall have the following powers and duties:

1. To evaluate and strengthen all local, regional and state programs dealingwith child abuse and neglect.

2. To assume primary responsibility for directing the planning and funding ofchild-protective services. This shall include reviewing and approving theannual proposed plans and budgets for protective services submitted by thelocal departments.

3. To assist in developing programs aimed at discovering and preventing themany factors causing child abuse and neglect.

4. To prepare and disseminate, including the presentation of, educationalprograms and materials on child abuse and neglect.

5. To provide educational programs for professionals required by law to makereports under this chapter.

6. To establish standards of training and provide educational programs toqualify workers in the field of child-protective services. Such standards oftraining shall include provisions regarding the legal duties of the workersin order to protect the constitutional and statutory rights and safety ofchildren and families from the initial time of contact during investigationthrough treatment.

7. To establish standards of training and educational programs to qualifyworkers to determine whether complaints of abuse or neglect of a child in aprivate or state-operated hospital, institution or other facility, or publicschool, are founded.

8. To maintain staff qualified pursuant to Board regulations to assist localdepartment personnel in determining whether an employee of a private orstate-operated hospital, institution or other facility or an employee of aschool board, abused or neglected a child in such hospital, institution, orother facility, or public school.

9. To monitor the processing and determination of cases where an employee ofa private or state-operated hospital, institution or other facility, or anemployee of a school board, is suspected of abusing or neglecting a child insuch hospital, institution, or other facility, or public school.

10. To help coordinate child-protective services at the state, regional, andlocal levels with the efforts of other state and voluntary social, medicaland legal agencies.

11. To maintain a child abuse and neglect information system that includesall cases of child abuse and neglect within the Commonwealth.

12. To provide for methods to preserve the confidentiality of all records inorder to protect the rights of the child, and his parents or guardians.

13. To establish minimum training requirements for workers and supervisors onfamily abuse and domestic violence, including the relationship betweendomestic violence and child abuse and neglect.

(1975, c. 341, § 63.1-248.7; 1984, c. 734; 1993, c. 955; 2000, c. 500; 2002,c. 747; 2004, cc. 93, 233, 972, 980.)