On behalf of the Culpeper Department of Social Services, I am submitting the following comments regarding the draft regulation to implement the Parental Child Safety Placement Program, 22VVAC40-705, sections 60 and 200.

Section D. (1)(a) - Child welfare staff are not trained to assess which criminal convictions are "barrier crimes".  Local staff are no trained to assess criminal convictions outside of Virginia that could potentially be barrier crimes as per the Code of Virginia.  LDSS should be required to document any prior criminal history of the proposed caregiver and document the full assessment about the circumstances of any criminal history as part of the overall caregiver assessment.

Section D. (2) - A regulatory requirement directing LDSS to conduct drug screenings for proposed caregivers could lead to a disproportionate number of relatives or fictive kin being eliminated as placement options for children.  Instead, caregivers should be screened for potential substance use disorders rather than the proposed "reason to believe" criteria.  It is recommended that D.(2) be stricken and the following language be added to Section D. (1) (a)(iii):  "If a local department's assessment of the proposed caregiver indicated that a substance use disorder requires further assessment, the local department will provide necessary referrals for treatment to include a substance use assessment and/or screening for substance use.  This action will be documented in the child welfare case management system."

Section D. (3) - The language as follows is proposed: "including the assessment of safety risks posed by other children living in the home."  While LDSS may assess the characteristics of other children living in the home, LDSS has no way to assess potential safety risks posed by "other children" as juvenile criminal records, medical, school records or other assessments would not be available to LDSS.

Section D. (5) - Replace the requirements with the following language: "The identification of a criminal conviction or founded child protective services disposition requires further assessment including a discussion with the individual about the circumstances surrounding the crime/founded disposition, time frame of the crime, current status and the individuals explanation of the crime/conviction/founded disposition.  This information must be documented in the case record.  A supervsory approval review of the placement by the supervisor, Director, or Director's designee is required before the child may be place into the home of the proposed caregiver with a criminal conviction or founded disposition.  Documentation of the supervisory approval review must be entered into the case record.  The Department will periodically review placements of children that require supervisory approval reviews."

Section F. - VLSSE proposes and we agree, that the number of business days to conduct the facilitated meeting be increased from five business days to 14 calendar days.  We concur with VLSSE reasons for this change.

Section K - Section 63.2-1533 (g) of the Code of Virginia states: "(iii) the local department should seek a child protective order or other court action."  Section K (2) requires an LDSS to seek "removal".  The language in Section K (2) should be aligned with the Code rather than specifying a removal petition as a child protective order is the least restrictive option.  

Thank you for this opportunity to comment.