Adult Social Services
| Bills | Committee | Last action | Date |
| HB 326 - Glass - Social Work Licensure Compact; authorizes Virginia to become a signatory to Compact. | (H) Committee on Health and Human Services (S) Committee on Finance and Appropriations | (G) Approved by Governor-Chapter 690 (effective - see bill) | 04/08/24 |
| notes: Authorizes Virginia to become a signatory to the Social Work Licensure Compact. The Compact allows social workers who have or are eligible for an active, unencumbered license in the compact member state where they reside to apply for a multistate license. After verifying eligibility, the social worker is granted a multistate license that authorizes practice in all other compact member states. The Compact takes effect when it is enacted by a seventh member state. | |||
| HB 855 - Hernandez - Home Energy Assistance Program; Bd. of Social Svcs. to allow applications to be submitted all year. | (H) Committee on Health and Human Services (S) Committee on Finance and Appropriations | (G) Approved by Governor-Chapter 734 (effective 7/1/24) | 04/08/24 |
| notes: Requires the State Department of Social Services to allow applications for the Home Energy Assistance Program to be submitted during all months of the year. | |||
| HJ 1 - Herring - Constitutional amendment; fundamental right to reproductive freedom (first reference). | (H) Committee on Privileges and Elections | (H) Continued to 2025 in Privileges and Elections | 02/09/24 |
| notes: Provides that every individual has the fundamental right to reproductive freedom and that the right to make and effectuate one's own decisions about all matters related to one's pregnancy cannot be denied, burdened, or otherwise infringed upon by the Commonwealth, unless justified by a compelling state interest and achieved by the least restrictive means. The amendment prohibits the Commonwealth from penalizing, prosecuting, or otherwise taking adverse action against an individual for exercising the individual's right to reproductive freedom or for aiding another individual in the exercise of such right, unless justified by a compelling state interest. | |||
| SB 70 - McPike - SNAP; employment and training. | (H) Committee on Appropriations (S) Committee on Finance and Appropriations | (H) Tabled in Appropriations (22-Y 0-N) | 02/28/24 |
| notes: Requires all local departments of social services to offer an employment and training program for SNAP benefits program participants. | |||
| SB 239 - Hashmi - Social Work Licensure Compact; authorizes Virginia to become a signatory to Compact. | (H) Committee on General Laws (S) Committee on Finance and Appropriations | (G) Approved by Governor-Chapter 704 (effective - see bill) | 04/08/24 |
| notes: Authorizes Virginia to become a signatory to the Social Work Licensure Compact. The Compact allows social workers who have or are eligible for an active, unencumbered license in the compact member state where they reside to apply for a multistate license. After verifying eligibility, the social worker is granted a multistate license that authorizes practice in all other compact member states. The Compact takes effect when it is enacted by a seventh member state. | |||
| SB 417 - Head - Adult protective services; created central registry of substantiated complaints of adult abuse, etc. | (S) Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services | (S) Continued to 2025 in Rehabilitation and Social Services (13-Y 0-N) | 02/02/24 |
| notes: Creates a central registry of substantiated complaints of adult abuse, neglect, and exploitation to be maintained by the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services. The bill establishes (i) investigation requirements for local departments of social services related to reports of adult abuse, neglect, and exploitation; (ii) record retention and disclosure requirements for the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services and local departments of social services; (iii) notice requirements related to findings by local departments and central registry entries; and (iv) an appeals process to contest the findings of a local department related to substantiated reports of adult abuse, neglect, or exploitation. The bill directs the Commissioner for Aging and Rehabilitative Services to adopt regulations to implement the provisions of the bill and exempts the Commissioner's initial adoption of such regulations from the provisions of the Administrative Process Act. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026. | |||
| SJ 1 - Boysko - Constitutional amendment; fundamental right to reproductive freedom (first reference). | (S) Committee on Privileges and Elections | (S) Continued to 2025 in Privileges and Elections (14-Y 0-N) | 01/16/24 |
| notes: Provides that every individual has the fundamental right to reproductive freedom and that the right to make and effectuate one's own decisions about all matters related to one's pregnancy cannot be denied, burdened, or otherwise infringed upon by the Commonwealth, unless justified by a compelling state interest and achieved by the least restrictive means. The amendment prohibits the Commonwealth from penalizing, prosecuting, or otherwise taking adverse action against an individual for exercising the individual's right to reproductive freedom or for aiding another individual in the exercise of such right, unless justified by a compelling state interest. | |||