republic-os/legislation/us/states/va/2017/sb-1086.md

---
type: "Bill"
title: "In utero exposure to a controlled substance; departments of social services to collect information."
description: "Requires local departments of social services to collect information during a family assessment to determine whether the mother of a child who was exposed in utero to a controlled substance sought substance abuse counseling or treatment prior to the child's birth. The bill requires mandated reporters of suspected child abuse or neglect to make a report if a finding is made by a health care provider (i) within six weeks following a child's birth that the child was born affected by substance abuse or experiencing withdrawal symptoms resulting from in utero drug exposure; (ii) within four years following a child's birth that the child has an illness, disease, or condition that is attributable to maternal abuse of a controlled substance during pregnancy; or (iii) within four years following a child's birth that the child has a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder attributable to in utero exposure to alcohol. The bill provides that if a local department of social services receives a report or complaint of suspected child abuse or neglect on the basis of one or more of the aforementioned factors, the local department shall (a) conduct a family assessment, unless an investigation is required by law or is necessary to protect the safety of the child, and (b) develop a plan of safe care in accordance with federal law. The bill directs the State Board of Social Services to promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of the bill. This bill is identical to"
jurisdiction: "us/states/va"
legislature: "Virginia General Assembly"
session: "2017"
identifier: "SB 1086"
citation: "Virginia SB 1086 (2017)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Narcotics and Drugs", "Welfare (Social Services)"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Jennifer T. Wexton"]
version_count: 4
action_count: 21
vote_count: 8
first_action: "2017-01-06"
last_action: "2017-03-13"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/f1935783-52b1-4602-8e31-a3530061b195"
source_url: "http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?171+sum+SB1086"
source_hash: "0c71bf4fca504b22e36184e5ec38ee4f91b3f04d55eb555ade16562b66885152"
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 SB 1086 (2017) — In utero exposure to a controlled substance; departments of social services to collect information.

Requires local departments of social services to collect information during a family assessment to determine whether the mother of a child who was exposed in utero to a controlled substance sought substance abuse counseling or treatment prior to the child's birth. The bill requires mandated reporters of suspected child abuse or neglect to make a report if a finding is made by a health care provider (i) within six weeks following a child's birth that the child was born affected by substance abuse or experiencing withdrawal symptoms resulting from in utero drug exposure; (ii) within four years following a child's birth that the child has an illness, disease, or condition that is attributable to maternal abuse of a controlled substance during pregnancy; or (iii) within four years following a child's birth that the child has a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder attributable to in utero exposure to alcohol. The bill provides that if a local department of social services receives a report or complaint of suspected child abuse or neglect on the basis of one or more of the aforementioned factors, the local department shall (a) conduct a family assessment, unless an investigation is required by law or is necessary to protect the safety of the child, and (b) develop a plan of safe care in accordance with federal law. The bill directs the State Board of Social Services to promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of the bill. This bill is identical to

## Version chain

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

1. **Governor: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0428)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?171+ful+CHAP0428)
2. **Senate: Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB1086ER)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?171+ful+SB1086ER)
3. **Senate: Committee substitute printed 17104725D-S1** (committee substitute) — [source](http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?171+ful+SB1086S1)
4. **Senate: Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/11/17 17101353D** (committee substitute) — [source](http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?171+ful+SB1086)

## Votes

- Reported from Rehabilitation and Social Services with substitute — **15–0** (pass) · legislature
- Constitutional reading dispensed — **40–0** (pass) · legislature
- Passed House BLOCK VOTE — **99–0** (pass) · legislature
- Constitutional reading dispensed — **40–0** (pass) · legislature
- Reported from Appropriations — **21–0** (pass) · legislature
- Passed Senate — **40–0** (pass) · legislature
- Reported from Health, Welfare and Institutions — **22–0** (pass) · legislature
- Reported from Finance — **16–0** (pass) · legislature

## Sponsors

- Jennifer T. Wexton — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2017-01-06** Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/11/17 17101353D `introduction`
- **2017-01-06** Referred to Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services `referral-committee`
- **2017-01-27** Rereferred to Finance `referral-committee`
- **2017-02-03** Read second time `reading-2`
- **2017-02-03** Reading of substitute waived
- **2017-02-03** Committee substitute agreed to 17104725D-S1
- **2017-02-03** Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute SB1086S1
- **2017-02-08** Placed on Calendar
- **2017-02-08** Read first time `reading-1`
- **2017-02-08** Referred to Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions `referral-committee`
- **2017-02-09** Referred to Committee on Appropriations `referral-committee`
- **2017-02-09** Assigned App. sub: Health & Human Resources `referral-committee`
- **2017-02-14** Read second time `reading-2`
- **2017-02-15** Read third time `reading-3`
- **2017-02-15** Passed House BLOCK VOTE (99-Y 0-N) `passage`
- **2017-02-17** Enrolled
- **2017-02-17** Signed by Speaker
- **2017-02-20** Signed by President
- **2017-02-21** Enrolled Bill Communicated to Governor on 2/21/17
- **2017-02-21** Governor's Action Deadline Midnight, March 27, 2017
- **2017-03-13** Approved by Governor-Chapter 428 (effective 7/1/17) `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/f1935783-52b1-4602-8e31-a3530061b195`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).