SB305 • 2026

Kinship foster care; barrier crime waiver, report.

An Act to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 63.2-901.2, relating to kinship foster care; barrier crime waiver.

Children Crime Taxes

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor: Pekarsky
Last action: 2026-04-13
Official status: Acts of Assembly Chapter
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Kinship Foster Care; Barrier Crime Waiver

This act allows local social services departments to apply for a waiver on behalf of individuals with certain criminal convictions who want to become kinship foster parents, and requires the state Department of Social Services to report annually on these applications.

What This Bill Does

Allows local social services departments to request a barrier crime waiver from the state Department of Social Services for individuals convicted of non-federal barrier crimes that are not violent felonies or sex offenses.
Requires local social services departments to conduct an assessment before applying for a waiver, considering factors like the type and number of convictions, age at conviction, time since last conviction, rehabilitation evidence, and community opinions.
Requires the state Department of Social Services to review each waiver application and decide whether to approve it based on safety concerns and what is best for the child.
Requires the state Department of Social Services to submit an annual report detailing the number and types of waiver requests, their outcomes, and summaries of all requests made.

Who It Names or Affects

Local social services departments that can apply for waivers on behalf of individuals with certain criminal convictions who want to become kinship foster parents.
The state Department of Social Services which reviews these applications and reports annually on the waiver process.

Terms To Know

Barrier Crime: A crime that prevents someone from being approved as a foster parent unless they get a special permission called a waiver.
Kinship Foster Care: When relatives or close friends take care of children who can't live with their parents due to safety concerns.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify the exact criteria for approving or denying waiver requests.
It is unclear how many waivers will be requested and approved each year.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

SB305ASC1

2026-02-06 • Committee

Rehabilitation and Social Services Amendment

Plain English: The amendment adds new conditions for waiving certain criminal barriers to becoming a kinship foster care provider.

Adds a condition that allows the waiver of a barrier crime if it is not a violent felony offense as defined in § 17.1-805.

The amendment text does not provide full context or details about how these changes will be implemented, so some specifics are unclear.

SB305AS1

2026-02-06 • Committee

Rehabilitation and Social Services Amendment

Plain English: The amendment adds new conditions for waiving certain criminal barriers to becoming a kinship foster care provider.

Adds a condition that allows the waiver of a barrier crime if it is not a violent felony offense as defined in § 17.1-805.

The amendment text does not provide full context or details about how this change will be implemented or its broader impact on kinship foster care policies.

SB305AS2

2026-02-13 • Member

Senator Pekarsky Amendments

Plain English: The amendment adds requirements for an annual report on kinship foster care waiver processes to be submitted to specific committees.

Requires the Department of Social Services to submit an annual report detailing the kinship foster care waiver process by December 1 each year.
Includes details such as the number and types of waivers requested, their disposition, and a summary of all requests in the report.

The amendment text is marked as withdrawn, so it's unclear if these changes will be implemented.

Bill History

2026-04-13 Governor
Approved by Governor-Chapter 648 (effective 7/1/2026)
2026-04-13 Governor
Approved by Governor-Chapter 648 (effective 7/1/2026)
2026-04-13 Governor
Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0648)
2026-04-06 Governor
Approved by Governor-Chapter 104 (effective 7/1/2026)
2026-03-10 Senate
Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 10, 2026
2026-03-10 Governor
Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026
2026-03-04 House
Signed by Speaker
2026-03-04 Senate
Signed by President
2026-03-04 Senate
Enrolled
2026-03-04 Senate
Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB305ER)
2026-03-04 Senate
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB305)
2026-02-27 House
Read third time
2026-02-27 House
committee substitute rejected
2026-02-27 House
Passed House Block Vote (96-Y 0-N 0-A)
2026-02-27 Senate
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB305)
2026-02-26 House
Read second time
2026-02-24 Health and Human Services
Reported from Health and Human Services with substitute (22-Y 0-N)
2026-02-24 Health and Human Services
Committee substitute printed 26108574D-H1
2026-02-18 House
Placed on Calendar
2026-02-18 House
Read first time
2026-02-18 Health and Human Services
Referred to Committee on Health and Human Services
2026-02-18 Senate
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB305)
2026-02-13 Senate
Senator Pekarsky Amendments withdrawn
2026-02-13 Senate
Reengrossed by Senate as amended
2026-02-13 Senate
Rules suspended
2026-02-13 Senate
Passed Senate
2026-02-13 Senate
Engrossment reconsidered by Senate
2026-02-13 Senate
Reading of amendment waived (Voice Vote)
2026-02-13 Senate
Senator Pekarsky Amendments #2-4 agreed to
2026-02-13 Senate
Engrossed by Senate (Voice Vote)
2026-02-13 Senate
Constitutional reading dispensed (on 3rd reading) (37-Y 0-N 0-A)
2026-02-13 Senate
Read third time and passed Senate (37-Y 0-N 0-A)
2026-02-13 Senate
Floor offered
2026-02-12 Senate
Read third time
2026-02-12 Senate
Passed by for the day
2026-02-11 Senate
Passed by for the day
2026-02-10 Senate
Read second time
2026-02-10 Senate
Engrossed by Senate as amended (Voice Vote)
2026-02-10 Rehabilitation and Social Services
Rehabilitation and Social Services Amendments agreed to
2026-02-10 Senate
Engrossed by Senate (Voice Vote)
2026-02-09 Senate
Rules suspended
2026-02-09 Senate
Passed by for the day
2026-02-09 Senate
Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A)
2026-02-09 Senate
Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
2026-02-06 Rehabilitation and Social Services
Reported from Rehabilitation and Social Services with amendments (10-Y 0-N 5-A)
2026-02-06 Senate
Senate committee offered
2026-01-28 Senate
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB305)
2026-01-13 Senate
Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26104727D
2026-01-13 Rehabilitation and Social Services
Referred to Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services

Official Summary Text

Kinship foster care; barrier crime waiver; report.
Establishes a process by which a local department of social services may apply for a barrier crime waiver on behalf of an individual who has been convicted of a Virginia barrier crime that (i) is not (a) included on the list of federal barrier crimes; (b) a violent felony offense; or (c) an offense requiring registration under the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry Act and (ii) does not otherwise fall under a barrier crime exception for foster or adoptive homes for the purpose of approval of the individual's home as a kinship foster home. The bill creates a process by which such a local department of social services may apply to the Department of Social Services for a waiver and for the Department to conduct an assessment of such application. The bill also requires the Department of Social Services to file an annual report by December 1 of each year detailing the specifics of the waiver process to the Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services and the House Committee on Health and Human Services. This bill is identical to HB 632.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

An Act to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered
63.2-901.2
, relating to kinship foster care; barrier crime waiver.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section numbered
63.2-901.2
as follows:
§
63.2-901.2
. Barrier crime waivers for kinship foster parents.
A. No local board shall approve a kinship foster home, as permitted pursuant to
63.2-900.1
, if any individual's background check conducted pursuant to §
63.2-901.1
returns a conviction for a barrier crime as defined in §
19.2-392.02
and the individual does not meet the exceptions in subsection E, F, or G of §
63.2-901.1
or subsection G or H of §
63.2-1721
. However, if an individual or adult household member has been convicted of a barrier crime as defined in §
19.2-392.02
that is not (i)

identified as a federal barrier crime pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 671(a)(20); (ii) a violent felony offense as defined in subsection C of §
17.1-805
; or (iii) an offense requiring registration pursuant to §
9.1-902
, the local department may apply to the Department on behalf of such individual for a barrier crime waiver.
B. Upon completion of a background check pursuant to §
63.2-901.1
for which a kinship foster home is rejected due to an individual's conviction for a barrier crime as defined in §
19.2-392.02
, the Department shall provide information on the process for applying for a barrier crime waiver pursuant to this section with the notification of rejection.
C. In evaluating whether to submit an application for a barrier crime waiver pursuant to subsection A, the local department shall consider the following factors:
1. The type of crime for which the individual was convicted;
2. The number of convictions;
3. The nature of the offense or offenses;
4. The age of the individual at the time of each conviction;
5. The length of time that has elapsed since the last conviction;
6. The relationship between the crime for which the individual was convicted and the capacity to care for children;
7. Any evidence of rehabilitation; and
8. Opinions of community members concerning the individual.
D. Prior to submitting an application pursuant to subsection A, the local department shall conduct an assessment related to the factors in subsection C as well as the individual's capacity to care for children and whether placement with the individual would support the child's permanency goals. If the local department determines that (i) there are no safety concerns regarding placement with the individual, (ii) such placement would be safe for the child, and (iii) such placement would be in the child's best interest, the local department shall submit an application for a barrier crime waiver for such individual pursuant to subsection A and a request to the Department that such application be approved. Such request shall include all relevant information used in the local department's assessment.
E. Upon receipt of both an application submitted pursuant to subsection A and a request for approval pursuant to subsection D, the Department shall conduct its evaluation and approve or deny the individual's barrier crime waiver. The Department shall notify the local department of its decision in writing.
2. The Department of Social Services shall promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of this act. The initial promulgation of regulations pursuant to this act shall be exempt from the requirements of the Administrative Process Act (§
2.2-4000
et seq. of the Code of Virginia).
3. That the Department of Social Services (the Department) shall file an annual report by December 1 of each year detailing the specifics of the waiver process to the Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services and the House Committee on Health and Human Services. Such report shall include (i) the number of waivers submitted by locality, (ii) the types of requests submitted, (iii) the disposition of the waiver requests, and (iv) a summary of all requests made to the Department. The Department shall submit the initial report required pursuant to this enactment by December 1, 2026.