# Virginia HB1733: Children; petitions for relief of care & custody, investigation by local dept. of social services. Virginia HB1733, Children; petitions for relief of care & custody, investigation by local dept. of social services., is a 2025 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Joshua G. Cole (Democratic); status to governor, last action 2025-03-19 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0138)) (as of 2026-10-17). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1733-2025 - As of: 2026-10-17 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Virginia HB1733 - State: Virginia - Session: 2025 Regular Session - Title: Children; petitions for relief of care & custody, investigation by local dept. of social services. - Status: to governor - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2025-01-04 - Last action: 2025-03-19, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0138) - Sponsor: Joshua G. Cole (Democratic) - Cosponsors: 0 - Touches household money: no - Roll calls: 7 (217 yes, 0 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 0 ## Summary Petitions for relief of care and custody of a child; investigation by local department of social services; Office of the Children's Ombudsman work group; report. Requires a local department of social services, as a part of its investigation after the referral of a request for a petition for relief of the care and custody of a child, to (i) refer the parent to the local family assessment and planning team and (ii) create a written report. The bill directs the Department of Social Services, in coordination with the Virginia League of Social Services Executives, to create a template for and provide guidance on what should be included in such written report. The bill also directs the Office of the Children's Ombudsman to convene a work group composed of relevant stakeholders to (a) determine the factors a court should consider when determining whether there is good cause shown for a petitioner's desire to be relieved of the care and custody of a child and (b) explore the potential benefits and considerations of raising the standard of evidence for granting temporary relief of custody from the current standard of preponderance of the evidence to clear and convincing evidence. The bill directs the work group to submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the Chairs of the House and Senate Committees for Courts of Justice and the Virginia Commission on Youth by November 1, 2025. Certain provisions of the bill have a delayed effective date of January 1, 2026. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Virginia Commission on Youth. This bill is identical to SB 1372. ## Bill overview No economic impacts identified for this bill. ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Joshua G. Cole (Democratic), House ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2025-02-12 | Senate | Passed Senate Block Vote | pass | 39 | 0 | | | 2025-02-11 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 40 | 0 | | | 2025-02-10 | Senate | Reported from Courts of Justice | pass | 12 | 0 | | | 2025-01-30 | House | Read third time and passed House Block Vote | pass | 96 | 0 | | | 2025-01-24 | House | Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute | pass | 22 | 0 | | | 2025-01-20 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute | pass | 8 | 0 | 1 | | 2025-01-14 | House | Referred from Health and Human Services and referred to Courts of Justice (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 | | ## Actions (31) - 2025-03-19: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0138) (Governor) - 2025-03-19: Approved by Governor-Chapter 138 (Effective 01/01/26) (Governor) - 2025-03-03: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., March 24, 2025 (Governor) - 2025-03-03: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 3, 2025 (House) - 2025-02-20: Signed by President (Senate) - 2025-02-18: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1733) (House) - 2025-02-17: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1733ER) (House) - 2025-02-17: Enrolled (House) - 2025-02-17: Signed by Speaker (House) - 2025-02-12: Passed Senate Block Vote (39-Y 0-N) (Senate) - 2025-02-12: Read third time (Senate) - 2025-02-11: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N) (Senate) - 2025-02-11: Passed by for the day (Senate) - 2025-02-11: Rules suspended (Senate) - 2025-02-10: Reported from Courts of Justice (12-Y 0-N) (Senate) - 2025-01-31: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice (Senate) - 2025-01-31: Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (Senate) - 2025-01-30: Read third time and passed House Block Vote (96-Y 0-N) (House) - 2025-01-29: Engrossed by House - committee substitute (House) - 2025-01-29: Courts of Justice Substitute agreed to (House) - 2025-01-29: Read second time (House) - 2025-01-28: Read first time (House) - 2025-01-24: Committee substitute printed 25105494D-H1 (House) - 2025-01-24: Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (22-Y 0-N) (House) - 2025-01-21: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1733) (House) - 2025-01-20: Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (8-Y 0-N) (House) - 2025-01-17: Assigned Courts sub: Civil (House) - 2025-01-15: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1733) (House) - 2025-01-14: Referred from Health and Human Services and referred to Courts of Justice (Voice Vote) (House) - 2025-01-04: Referred to Committee on Health and Human Services (House) - 2025-01-04: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-08-2025 25103979D (House) ## Bill text - Chaptered, 2025-03-19: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1071447.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1071446.PDF) - Enrolled, 2025-02-17: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1050031.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1050030.PDF) - Substitute, 2025-01-24: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1024051.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1024050.PDF) - Introduced, 2025-01-04: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1012927.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1012926.PDF) ## Related bills - HR671: Commending JR's Auto Care. (adopted) - SB941: Robbery; use of air or gas operated weapon, etc., penalty. (failed) - HB1746: Public safety officer; definition. (failed) - HB1600: Budget Bill. (failed) - SB1449: Data centers; site assessment for high energy use facility. (failed) - HB1609: Essential health benefits benchmark plan; Commission to consider coverage for infertility treatment. (to governor) ## Sources - [Chaptered (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1071447.HTML) - [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1071446.PDF) - [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1050031.HTML) - [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1050030.PDF) - [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1024051.HTML) - [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1024050.PDF) - [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1012927.HTML) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1012926.PDF) ## Related - [HR671: Commending JR's Auto Care.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HR671-2025) - [SB941: Robbery; use of air or gas operated weapon, etc., penalty.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB941-2025) - [HB1746: Public safety officer; definition.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1746-2025) - [HB1600: Budget Bill.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1600-2025) - [SB1449: Data centers; site assessment for high energy use facility.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB1449-2025) - [HB1609: Essential health benefits benchmark plan; Commission to consider coverage for i…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1609-2025) - [Virginia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia/bills) - [Virginia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1733-2025 (as of 2026-10-17).