SB 640 VA

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Became Law

Department of Social Services; corrective action plans; centralized hotline for reports or complaints of child abuse or neglect. Establishes a centralized hotline for reports and complaints of child abuse or neglect and grants the Commissioner of Social Services the authority to create and enforce a corrective action plan for any local board of social services or local department of social services that (i) fails to administer public assistance and social services programs in accordance with applicable laws and regulations or (ii) takes any action or fails to act in a manner that poses a substantial risk to the health, safety, or well-being of a child or adult. The bill permits similar authority for any local board of social services that (a) fails to provide child welfare services in accordance with applicable law or regulations or (b) takes any action or fails to act in a manner that poses a substantial risk to the health, safety, or well-being of a child. Under the bill, if a local board or department fails to comply with a corrective action plan, the Commissioner has the authority to temporarily assume control of all or part of the local board's operations. The bill also provides that, when a local board of social services or local department of social services requests assistance, the Commissioner has the authority to utilize staff of the Department of Social Services or contract with private entities to provide public assistance and social services programs in the locality served by the local board or department. The bill requires the Department of Social Services to establish and maintain a hotline for reports and complaints of child abuse or neglect and specifies that the Department shall determine the validity of such reports and complaints. The bill eliminates the requirement that local departments must be capable of receiving and responding to reports and complaints of abuse or neglect and instead requires that any complaint of child abuse or neglect received by a local department shall be immediately forwarded to the Department's child abuse and neglect hotline. The bill also adds adult services to the definition of "social services" for purposes of Title 63.2 (Welfare (Social Services)). The bill directs the Department of Social Services to (1) promulgate regulations necessary to implement the provisions of the bill and (2) contract with a third party by August 1, 2026, to conduct a comprehensive study and review of the screening process used for child protective services complaints across Virginia. The bill also directs the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to convene a Social Services Task Force to develop a comprehensive improvement plan to address changes needed within the State Department of Social Services and the local departments of social services. The provisions of the bill related to centralized intake have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.

• Todd E. Pillion Republican · primary

1. Jan 14, 2026 Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26104930D · upper
2. Jan 14, 2026 Referred to Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services · upper
3. Jan 27, 2026 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB640) · upper
4. Jan 30, 2026 Senate committee offered · upper
5. Jan 30, 2026 Reported from Rehabilitation and Social Services with substitute and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (13-Y 1-N 1-A) · upper
6. Jan 30, 2026 Committee substitute printed 26106711D-S1 · upper
7. Feb 10, 2026 Reported from Finance and Appropriations with substitute (14-Y 0-N 1-A) · upper
8. Feb 11, 2026 Committee substitute printed 26107316D-S2 · upper
9. Feb 11, 2026 Rules suspended · upper
10. Feb 11, 2026 Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) · upper
11. Feb 11, 2026 Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) · upper
12. Feb 12, 2026 Read second time · upper
13. Feb 12, 2026 Committee substitute rejected (Voice Vote) · upper
14. Feb 12, 2026 Committee substitute agreed to (Voice Vote) · upper
15. Feb 12, 2026 Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute (Voice Vote) · upper
16. Feb 13, 2026 Read third time and passed Senate (39-Y 0-N 0-A) · upper
17. Feb 19, 2026 Placed on Calendar · lower
18. Feb 19, 2026 Read first time · lower
19. Feb 19, 2026 Referred to Committee on Health and Human Services · lower
20. Feb 24, 2026 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB640) · upper
21. Feb 24, 2026 Committee substitute printed 26108457D-H1 · lower
22. Feb 24, 2026 Reported from Health and Human Services with substitute and referred to Appropriations (22-Y 0-N) · lower
23. Feb 24, 2026 Assigned HAPP sub: Health & Human Resources · lower
24. Feb 25, 2026 Reported from Appropriations (22-Y 0-N) · lower
25. Feb 27, 2026 Read second time · lower
26. Mar 2, 2026 Read third time · lower
27. Mar 2, 2026 committee substitute agreed to · lower
28. Mar 2, 2026 Engrossed by House - committee substitute · lower
29. Mar 2, 2026 Passed House with substitute (98-Y 0-N 0-A) · lower
30. Mar 2, 2026 Reconsideration of passage agreed to by House · lower
31. Mar 2, 2026 Passed House with substitute Block Vote (99-Y 0-N 0-A) · lower
32. Mar 4, 2026 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB640) · upper
33. Mar 4, 2026 House substitute rejected by Senate (0-Y 40-N 0-A) · upper
34. Mar 5, 2026 House insisted on substitute · lower
35. Mar 5, 2026 House requested conference committee · lower
36. Mar 9, 2026 Senate acceded to request Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A) · upper
37. Mar 9, 2026 Conferees appointed by Senate · upper
38. Mar 9, 2026 Senate Conferees: Pillion, VanValkenburg, Favola · upper
39. Mar 11, 2026 Conferees appointed by House · lower
40. Mar 11, 2026 House Conferees: Tran, Callsen, Kent · lower
41. Mar 13, 2026 Conference Report released · legislature
42. Mar 13, 2026 Conference report agreed to by Senate (39-Y 0-N 0-A) · upper
43. Mar 13, 2026 Conference report agreed to by House (92-Y 0-N 0-A) · lower
44. Mar 30, 2026 Enrolled · upper
45. Mar 30, 2026 Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB640ER) · upper
46. Mar 30, 2026 Signed by President · upper
47. Mar 31, 2026 Signed by Speaker · lower
48. Mar 31, 2026 Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026 · upper
49. Mar 31, 2026 Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 · executive
50. Apr 6, 2026 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB640) · upper
51. Apr 7, 2026 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB640) · upper
52. Apr 13, 2026 Approved by Governor-Chapter 900 (effective 7/1/2026) · executive

The published texts of this bill as it moves through the legislature. Each links to the official document on the state legislature site. Data from OpenStates.

• Enrolled · PDF
• Enrolled · HTML
• Conference Report · HTML
• Conference Report Substitute · PDF
• Conference Report Substitute · HTML
• Health and Human Services Substitute · PDF
• Health and Human Services Substitute · HTML
• Finance and Appropriations Substitute · PDF
• Finance and Appropriations Substitute · HTML
• Rehabilitation and Social Services Substitute · PDF
• Rehabilitation and Social Services Substitute · HTML
• Rehabilitation and Social Services Substitute · PDF
• Rehabilitation and Social Services Substitute · HTML
• Introduced · PDF
• Introduced · HTML