# Virginia SB1372: Children; petitions for relief of care & custody, investigation by local dept. of social services. Virginia SB1372, Children; petitions for relief of care & custody, investigation by local dept. of social services., is a 2025 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by David R. Suetterlein (Republican); status to governor, last action 2025-03-19 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0155)) (as of 2026-10-17). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB1372-2025 - As of: 2026-10-17 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Virginia SB1372 - 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: Senate - Introduced: 2025-01-13 - Last action: 2025-03-19, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0155) - Sponsor: David R. Suetterlein (Republican) - Cosponsors: 0 - Touches household money: no - Roll calls: 6 (221 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 HB 1733. ## Bill overview No economic impacts identified for this bill. ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: David R. Suetterlein (Republican), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2025-02-10 | House | Passed House Block Vote | pass | 95 | 0 | | | 2025-02-05 | House | Reported from Courts of Justice | pass | 22 | 0 | | | 2025-01-29 | Senate | Read third time and passed Senate Block Vote | pass | 38 | 0 | | | 2025-01-27 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) | pass | 36 | 0 | | | 2025-01-24 | Senate | Reported from Rehabilitation and Social Services with substitute | pass | 15 | 0 | | | 2025-01-17 | Senate | Rereferred from Rules to Rehabilitation and Social Services | pass | 15 | 0 | | ## Actions (31) - 2025-03-19: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0155) (Governor) - 2025-03-19: Approved by Governor-Chapter 155 (Effective 07/01/25) (Governor) - 2025-02-18: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., March 24, 2025 (Governor) - 2025-02-18: Enrolled Bill Communicated to Governor on February 18, 2025 (Senate) - 2025-02-13: Signed by President (Senate) - 2025-02-11: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB1372) (Senate) - 2025-02-11: Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB1372ER) (Senate) - 2025-02-11: Enrolled (Senate) - 2025-02-11: Signed by Speaker (House) - 2025-02-10: Passed House Block Vote (95-Y 0-N) (House) - 2025-02-10: Read third time (House) - 2025-02-07: Read second time (House) - 2025-02-05: Reported from Courts of Justice (22-Y 0-N) (House) - 2025-02-05: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice (House) - 2025-02-05: Read first time (House) - 2025-02-05: Placed on Calendar (House) - 2025-01-29: Read third time and passed Senate Block Vote (38-Y 0-N) (Senate) - 2025-01-28: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB1372) (Senate) - 2025-01-28: Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute (Senate) - 2025-01-28: Rehabilitation and Social Services Substitute agreed to (Senate) - 2025-01-28: Reading of substitute waived (Senate) - 2025-01-28: Read second time (Senate) - 2025-01-27: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) (36-Y 0-N) (Senate) - 2025-01-27: Passed by for the day (Senate) - 2025-01-27: Rules suspended (Senate) - 2025-01-24: Committee substitute printed 25105903D-S1 (Senate) - 2025-01-24: Reported from Rehabilitation and Social Services with substitute (15-Y 0-N) (Senate) - 2025-01-17: Rereferred from Rules to Rehabilitation and Social Services (15-Y 0-N) (Senate) - 2025-01-15: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB1372) (Senate) - 2025-01-13: Referred to Committee on Rules (Senate) - 2025-01-13: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-13-2025 25103978D (Senate) ## Bill text - Chaptered, 2025-03-19: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1071475.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1071474.PDF) - Enrolled, 2025-02-11: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1045571.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1045570.PDF) - Substitute, 2025-01-24: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1028575.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1028574.PDF) - Introduced, 2025-01-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1019574.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1019573.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/1071475.HTML) - [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1071474.PDF) - [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1045571.HTML) - [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1045570.PDF) - [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1028575.HTML) - [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1028574.PDF) - [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1019574.HTML) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1019573.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-SB1372-2025 (as of 2026-10-17).