Bill Text: VA HB1437 | 2020 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Juveniles; confinement for violation of court order.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2020-04-02 - Governor: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0593) [HB1437 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2020-HB1437-Chaptered.html
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §16.1-292 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§16.1-292. Violation of court order by any person.
A. Any person violating an order of the juvenile court entered
pursuant to §§16.1-278.2 through 16.1-278.19 or §16.1-284, including a parent
subject to an order issued pursuant to subdivision 3 of §16.1-278.8, may be
proceeded against (i) by an order requiring the person to show cause why the
order of the court entered pursuant to §§16.1-278.2 through 16.1-278.19 has
not been complied with, (ii) for contempt of court pursuant to §16.1-69.24 or
as otherwise provided in this section, or (iii) by both. Except as otherwise
expressly provided herein, nothing in this chapter shall deprive the court of
its power to punish summarily for contempt for such acts as set forth in §
18.2-456, or to punish for contempt after notice and an opportunity for a
hearing on the contempt except that confinement in the case of a juvenile shall
be in a secure facility for juveniles rather than in jail and shall not exceed
a period of ten seven days for each offense. However, if the
person violating the order was a juvenile at the time of the original act and
is eighteen 18 years of age or older when the court enters a
disposition for violation of the order, the judge may order confinement in
jail. If a juvenile is found to have violated a court order as a status
offender, any order of disposition of such violation confining the juvenile in
a secure facility for juveniles shall (a) identify the valid court order that
has been violated; (b) specify the factual basis for determining that there is
reasonable cause to believe that the juvenile has violated such order; (c)
state the findings of fact that support a determination that there is no
appropriate less restrictive alternative available to placing the juvenile in
such a facility, with due consideration to the best interest of the juvenile;
(d) specify the length of time of such confinement, not to exceed seven days;
and (e) include a plan for the juvenile's release from such facility. Such
order of confinement shall not be renewed or extended.
B. Upon conviction of any party for contempt of court in
failing or refusing to comply with an order of a juvenile court for spousal
support or child support under §16.1-278.15, the court may commit and sentence
such party to confinement in a jail, workhouse, city farm, or work squad
as provided in §§20-61 and 20-62, for a fixed or indeterminate period or until
the further order of the court. In no event, however, shall such sentence be
imposed for a period of more than twelve 12 months. The sum or
sums as provided for in §20-63 shall be paid as therein set forth, to be used
for the support and maintenance of the spouse or the child or children for
whose benefit such order or decree provided.
C. Notwithstanding the contempt power of the court, the court shall be limited in the actions it may take with respect to a child violating the terms and conditions of an order to those which the court could have taken at the time of the court's original disposition pursuant to §§16.1-278.2 through 16.1-278.10, except as hereinafter provided. However, this limitation shall not be construed to deprive the court of its power to (i) punish a child summarily for contempt for acts set forth in §18.2-456 subject to the provisions of subsection A or (ii) punish a child for contempt for violation of a dispositional order in a delinquency proceeding after notice and an opportunity for a hearing regarding such contempt, including acts of disobedience of the court's dispositional order which are committed outside the presence of the court.
D. In the event a child in need of services is found to have willfully and materially violated for a second or subsequent time the order of the court pursuant to §16.1-278.4, the dispositional alternatives specified in subdivision 9 of §16.1-278.8 shall be available to the court.
E. In the event that a child in need of supervision is found to have willfully and materially violated an order of the court pursuant to §16.1-278.5, the court may enter any of the following orders of disposition:
1. Suspend the child's motor vehicle driver's license;
2. Order any such child fourteen 14 years of age
or older to be (i) placed in a foster home, group home, or other
nonsecure residential facility, or, (ii) if the court finds that such
placement is not likely to meet the child's needs, that all other treatment
options in the community have been exhausted, and that secure placement is
necessary in order to meet the child's service needs, detained in a secure
facility for a period of time not to exceed ten seven consecutive
days for violation of any order of the court arising out of the same petition.
The court shall state in its order for detention the basis for all findings
required by this section. In addition, any order of disposition for such
violation confining the child in a secure facility for juveniles shall (a)
identify the valid court order that has been violated; (b) specify the factual
basis for determining that there is reasonable cause to believe that the child
has violated such order; (c) state the findings of fact that support a
determination that there is no appropriate less restrictive alternative available
to placing the child in such a facility, with due consideration to the best
interest of the child; (iv) specify the length of time of such confinement, not
to exceed seven days; and (v) include a plan for the child's release from such
facility. Such order of confinement shall not be renewed or extended. When
any child is detained in a secure facility pursuant to this section, the court
shall direct the agency evaluating the child pursuant to §16.1-278.5 to
reconvene the interdisciplinary team participating in such evaluation as
promptly as possible to review its evaluation, develop further treatment plans
as may be appropriate and submit its report to the court for its determination
as to further treatment efforts either during or following the period the child
is in secure detention. A juvenile may only be detained pursuant to this
section in a detention home or other secure facility in compliance with
standards established by the State Board. Any order issued pursuant to this
subsection is a final order and is appealable to the circuit court as provided
by law.
F. Nothing in this section shall be construed to reclassify a child in need of services or in need of supervision as a delinquent.
