---
type: "Bill"
title: "Family assessments; increases timeline for completion."
description: "Family assessments; timeline. Increases from 45 days to 60 days the allowable time for completing a family assessment by a local department of social services and removes the local department's opportunity to request a 15-day extension. This bill is identical to SB 412."
jurisdiction: "us/states/va"
legislature: "Virginia General Assembly"
session: "2020"
identifier: "HB 778"
citation: "Virginia HB 778 (2020)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Jerrauld C. \"Jay\" Jones"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 25
vote_count: 8
first_action: "2020-01-07"
last_action: "2020-02-24"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/869c62d5-4833-4de5-a1ea-7745250e3228"
source_url: "https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+sum+HB778"
source_hash: "d81ae246f93eba1edd0ba11befe92a3f28fa20ab948acd3afd7eed8928c815b4"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-va"]
---

# Virginia HB 778 (2020) — Family assessments; increases timeline for completion.

Family assessments; timeline. Increases from 45 days to 60 days the allowable time for completing a family assessment by a local department of social services and removes the local department's opportunity to request a 15-day extension. This bill is identical to SB 412.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0005)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+CHAP0005)
2. **Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB778ER)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+HB778ER)
3. **Impact statement from DPB (HB778)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+HB778)

## Votes

- Constitutional reading dispensed (36-Y 0-N) — **36–0** (pass) · upper
- Passed Senate (40-Y 0-N) — **40–0** (pass) · upper
- Reported from Health, Welfare and Institutions (22-Y 0-N) — **22–0** (pass) · lower
- Passed Senate (40-Y 0-N) — **40–0** (pass) · upper
- Reported from Rehabilitation and Social Services (14-Y 0-N) — **14–0** (pass) · upper
- Subcommittee recommends reporting (6-Y 0-N) — **6–0** (pass) · lower
- Reconsideration of Senate passage agreed to by Senate (33-Y 6-N) — **33–6** (pass) · upper
- VOTE: (99-Y 0-N) — **98–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Jerrauld C. "Jay" Jones — primary (person)
- Mark L. Keam — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2020-01-07** Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/08/20 20100614D `introduction`
- **2020-01-07** Referred to Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions `referral-committee`
- **2020-01-14** Impact statement from DPB (HB778)
- **2020-01-14** Assigned HWI sub: Social Services `referral-committee`
- **2020-01-16** Subcommittee recommends reporting (6-Y 0-N)
- **2020-01-21** Reported from Health, Welfare and Institutions (22-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2020-01-23** Read first time `reading-1`
- **2020-01-24** Read second time and engrossed `reading-2`
- **2020-01-27** Read third time and passed House BLOCK VOTE (99-Y 0-N) `passage, reading-3`
- **2020-01-27** VOTE: (99-Y 0-N)
- **2020-01-28** Constitutional reading dispensed
- **2020-01-28** Referred to Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services `referral-committee`
- **2020-02-07** Reported from Rehabilitation and Social Services (14-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2020-02-10** Constitutional reading dispensed (36-Y 0-N)
- **2020-02-11** Read third time `reading-3`
- **2020-02-11** Passed Senate (40-Y 0-N) `passage`
- **2020-02-11** Reconsideration of Senate passage agreed to by Senate (33-Y 6-N)
- **2020-02-11** Passed Senate (40-Y 0-N) `passage`
- **2020-02-13** Enrolled
- **2020-02-13** Impact statement from DPB (HB778ER)
- **2020-02-13** Signed by Speaker
- **2020-02-13** Signed by President
- **2020-02-17** Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on February 17, 2020
- **2020-02-17** Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., February 24, 2020
- **2020-02-24** Approved by Governor-Chapter 5 (effective 7/1/20) `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/869c62d5-4833-4de5-a1ea-7745250e3228`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).