After a bill has been approved by its final committee of the House of Delegates or the Senate, it must be heard on the floor of the House or Senate on three different days before passage. This affords the deliberative bodies an opportunity to be sure that all understand the matters before them. Often, the bills are approved on a particular day in a “block,” so you should not expect that all bills will have a robust debate by the full legislative body each day.
The disAbility Law Center of Virginia has been carefully monitoring proposals regarding children with disabilities who are in foster care. Some important bills have already moved out of committee and are set to be heard by the full Senate or House of Delegates, while other bills have yet to be heard:
- SB 773 (Favola) will require local Departments of Social Services to develop housing plans for individuals leaving foster care due to age, with options for the youth. The bill was approved by the Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Service and has been referred to the Committee on Finance because of a potential fiscal impact of less than $500,00 a year.
- SB 818 (Favola) requires social services to notify a child in foster care and others involved in the child’s life if the child is eligible to receive certain federal benefits. The bill provides important due process protections to children in foster care. The bill was approved by the Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Service and now advances to the full Senate.
- HB 1631 (Keys-Gamarra) asks the Department of Social Services to obtain a supply of new luggage to be used to transport the personal belongings of a child in foster care. The bill was approved by the Subcommittee on Social Services, following emotional testimony about the stigma of children moving from home to home with their possessions in black garbage bags. Approved by the House Committee on Health and Human Services and referred to the Committee on Appropriations because of a fiscal impact of less than $400,000.
- HB 1777 (Sullivan) and SB 1406 (Salim) require the Department of Social Services to provide the contact information for the Office of the Children’s Ombudsman to a biological parent, prospective adoptive parent, or foster parent, as well as to any child in foster care age 12 or older. The bill states that if a foster child files a complaint with the Ombudsman, the Ombudsman need not gain the consent of the foster agency in order to communicate with the child. The House bill will be heard by the Social Services Subcommittee of Health and Human Services. The Senate version is in General Laws and Technology.
- HB 2457 (Glass) requires local departments of social services to apply for federal benefits on behalf of children in foster care where eligible, prohibits the use of military survivor benefits to pay for foster care, and requires that they place the benefits in an appropriate trust instrument. The bill will be heard by the House Committee on Health and Human Services.
dLCV’s mission is to advance independence, choice, and self-determination; protect legal, human, and civil rights; and eliminate abuse, neglect, and discrimination of people with disabilities, including children with disabilities who are in foster care. We are available to educate policymakers about the potential impact of legislative proposals. Please let us know of any legislation that you think we should be following, by emailing ga@dlcv.org.