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As taken from the Code
of Virginia
What is the legal definition of legal
custody?
According to Section 16.1-228 of the Code
of Virginia, "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 Section
20-107.2.
According to Section 20-124.1 of the code
of Virginia, "Joint custody" means (i) joint legal
custody where both parents retain joint responsibility for the
care and control of the child and joint authority to make decisions
concerning the child even though the child's primary residence
may be with only one parent, (ii) joint physical custody where
both parents share physical and custodial care of the child,
or (iii) any combination of joint legal and joint physical custody
which the court deems to be in the best interest of the child.
According to Section 20-124.1 of the Code
of Virginia, "Sole custody" means that one person
retains responsibility for the care and control of a child and
has primary authority to make decisions concerning the child.
What is the legal definition of child
abuse and neglect?
According to Section 16.1-228 of the Code of Virginia, abused
or neglected child means any child:
- Whose parents or other person responsible for his care
creates or inflicts, threatens to create or inflict, or
allows to be created or inflicted upon such child a physical
or mental injury by other than accidental means, or creates
a substantial risk of death, disfigurement or impairment
of bodily or mental functions, including, but not limited
to, a child who is with his parent or other person responsible
for his care either (i) during the manufacture or attempted
manufacture of a Schedule I or II controlled substance,
or (ii) during the unlawful sale of such substance by that
child's parents or other person responsible for his care,
where such manufacture, or attempted manufacture or unlawful
sale would constitute a felony violation of § 18.2-248;
- Whose parents or other person responsible for his care
neglects or refuses to provide care necessary for his health;
however, no child who in good faith is under treatment solely
by spiritual means through prayer in accordance with the
tenets and practices of a recognized church or religious
denomination shall for that reason alone be considered to
be an abused or neglected child;
- Whose parents or other person responsible for his care
abandons such child;
- Whose parents or other person responsible for his care
commits or allows to be committed any sexual act upon a
child in violation of the law; or
- Who is without parental care or guardianship caused by
the unreasonable absence or the mental or physical incapacity
of the child's parent, guardian, legal custodian or other
person standing in loco parentis.
If a civil proceeding under this chapter
is based solely on the parent having left the child at a hospital
or rescue squad, it shall be an affirmative defense that such
parent safely delivered the child to a hospital that provides
24-hour emergency services or to an attended rescue squad that
employs emergency medical technicians, within 14 days of the
child's birth. For purposes of terminating parental rights pursuant
to § 16.1-283 and placement for adoption, the court may
find such a child is a neglected child upon the ground of abandonment.
What is the definition of adoptive
home?
According to Section 16.1-228 of the Code
of Virginia, an "Adoptive home" means the place of
residence of any natural person in which a child resides as
a member of the household and in which he has been placed for
the purposes of adoption or in which he has been legally adopted
by another member of the household.
What is the legal definition of family
abuse?
According to Section 16.1-228 of the Code
of Virginia, "Family abuse" means any act involving
violence, force, or threat including, but not limited to, any
forceful detention, which results in bodily injury or places
one in reasonable apprehension of bodily injury and which is
committed by a person against such person's family or household
member.
What is the legal definition of family
or household member?
According to Section 16.1-228 of the Code
of Virginia, "Family or household member" means (i)
the person's spouse, whether or not he or she resides in the
same home with the person, (ii) the person's former spouse,
whether or not he or she resides in the same home with the person,
(iii) the person's parents, stepparents, children, stepchildren,
brothers, sisters, half-brothers, half-sisters, grandparents
and grandchildren, regardless of whether such persons reside
in the same home with the person, (iv) the person's mother-in-law,
father-in-law, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, brothers-in-law
and sisters-in-law who reside in the same home with the person,
(v) any individual who has a child in common with the person,
whether or not the person and that individual have been married
or have resided together at any time, or (vi) any individual
who cohabits or who, within the previous 12 months, cohabited
with the person, and any children of either of them then residing
in the same home with the person.
What is the legal definition of foster
care services?
According to Section 16.1-228 of the Code
of Virginia, "Foster care services" means the provision
of a full range of casework, treatment and community services
for a planned period of time to a child who is abused or neglected
as defined in § 63.2-100 or in need of services as defined
in this section and his family when the child (i) has been identified
as needing services to prevent or eliminate the need for foster
care placement, (ii) has been placed through an agreement between
the local board of social services or a public agency designated
by the community policy and management team and the parents
or guardians where legal custody remains with the parents or
guardians, (iii) has been committed or entrusted to a local
board of social services or child welfare agency, or (iv) has
been placed under the supervisory responsibility of the local
board pursuant to § 16.1-293.
What is the legal definition of Child
in need of services (CHINS-Services)?
According to Section 16.1-228 of the Code
of Virginia, "Child in need of services" means (i)
a child whose behavior, conduct or condition presents or results
in a serious threat to the well-being and physical safety of
the child or (ii) a child under the age of 14 whose behavior,
conduct or condition presents or results in a serious threat
to the well-being and physical safety of another person; however,
no child who in good faith is under treatment solely by spiritual
means through prayer in accordance with the tenets and practices
of a recognized church or religious denomination shall for that
reason alone be considered to be a child in need of services,
nor shall any child who habitually remains away from or habitually
deserts or abandons his family as a result of what the court
or the local child protective services unit determines to be
incidents of physical, emotional or sexual abuse in the home
be considered a child in need of services for that reason alone.
However, to find that a child falls within these provisions,
(i) the conduct complained of must present a clear and substantial
danger to the child's life or health or to the life or health
of another person, (ii) the child or his family is in need of
treatment, rehabilitation or services not presently being received,
and (iii) the intervention of the court is essential to provide
the treatment, rehabilitation or services needed by the child
or his family.
What is the legal definition of Child
in need of supervision (CHINS-Supervision)?
According to Section 16.1-228 of the Code
of Virginia, "Child in need of supervision" means:
- A child who, while subject to compulsory
school attendance, is habitually and without justification
absent from school, and (i) the child has been offered an
adequate opportunity to receive the benefit of any and all
educational services and programs that are required to be
provided by law and which meet the child's particular educational
needs, (ii) the school system from which the child is absent
or other appropriate agency has made a reasonable effort
to effect the child's regular attendance without success,
and (iii) the school system has provided documentation that
it has complied with the provisions of § 22.1-258;
or
- A child who, without reasonable cause
and without the consent of his parent, lawful custodian
or placement authority, remains away from or deserts or
abandons his family or lawful custodian on more than one
occasion or escapes or remains away without proper authority
from a residential care facility in which he has been placed
by the court, and (i) such conduct presents a clear and
substantial danger to the child's life or health, (ii) the
child or his family is in need of treatment, rehabilitation
or services not presently being received, and (iii) the
intervention of the court is essential to provide the treatment,
rehabilitation or services needed by the child or his family.
What is the legal definition of a delinquent
act?
According to Section 16.1-228 of the Code
of Virginia, "Delinquent act" means (i) an act designated
a crime under the law of this Commonwealth, or an ordinance
of any city, county, town or service district, or under federal
law, (ii) a violation of § 18.2-308.7, or (iii) a violation
of a court order as provided for in § 16.1-292, but shall
not include an act other than a violation of § 18.2-308.7,
which is otherwise lawful, but is designated a crime only if
committed by a child. For purposes of §§ 16.1-241
and 16.1-278.9, the term shall include a refusal to take a blood
or breath test in violation of § 18.2-268.2 or a similar
ordinance of any county, city or town.
What is the legal definition of residual
parental rights and responsibilities?
According to Section 16.1-228 of the Code
of Virginia, "Residual parental rights and responsibilities"
means all rights and responsibilities remaining with the parent
after the transfer of legal custody or guardianship of the person,
including but not limited to the right of visitation, consent
to adoption, the right to determine religious affiliation and
the responsibility for support.
What is the legal definition of permanent
foster care placement?
According to Section 16.1-228 of the Code
of Virginia, "Permanent foster care placement" means
the place of residence in which a child resides and in which
he has been placed pursuant to the provisions of §§
63.2-900 and 63.2-908 with the expectation and agreement between
the placing agency and the place of permanent foster care that
the child shall remain in the placement until he reaches the
age of majority unless modified by court order or unless removed
pursuant to § 16.1-251 or § 63.2-1517. A permanent
foster care placement may be a place of residence of any natural
person or persons deemed appropriate to meet a child's needs
on a long-term basis.
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