RD90 - Follow-Up Report: Custody Relinquishment and the Comprehensive Services Act


Executive Summary:
On December 11, 2006, the Joint Legislative Subcommittee Studying the Comprehensive Services Act asked JLARC staff to examine the extent to which the opinion issued by the Attorney General (December 6, 2006) would impact the size of the caseload and expenditures of the Comprehensive Services Act (CSA) program. In this opinion, the Attorney General (AG) concludes that the Code of Virginia requires the State and localities to serve children who are at risk of foster care placement without requiring their parents to relinquish custody. The opinion indicates that some localities have chosen to interpret the Code of Virginia too narrowly, and are improperly requiring parents to relinquish custody in order to obtain services. Our review confirms this finding, but the fiscal impact of the opinion may be limited given the high percentage of localities that already apply the law in a manner consistent with the AG’s interpretation with regard to community-based services.

In reviewing the issue of custody relinquishment raised by the AG opinion, it became apparent that a State policy that restricts access to residential services for children at risk of foster care placement has a more significant impact than local interpretation of State law. The State does not appear to have a legal basis for this policy. Furthermore, Virginia law appears to provide access to all needed services for children who are at risk of foster care placement and meet other eligibility criteria for CSA funding without parents having to relinquish custody or enter into non-custodial agreements. Consequently, the State’s policy of allowing access only to community-based services for children who are at risk of foster care placement appears to be inconsistent with State law. Because the legal basis of the State's current policy is in question, the Joint Legislative Subcommittee Studying the Comprehensive Services Act may wish to consider requesting that the Attorney General review and validate this finding.