HB 577: Social work; applicants for licensure, criminal background check, report. - Virginia

Health Professions Subcommittee Substitute → Courts of Justice Substitute · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill shifts the legislative focus from amending existing criminal background check laws for general employment to establishing a specific mandatory requirement for social work licensure. The House version included broad provisions for disseminating criminal records to various agencies, while the Senate version removes those general provisions entirely to focus solely on requiring social work applicants to undergo federal fingerprinting and background checks before obtaining a license.

Scope change

The bill's scope narrowed significantly from a general criminal justice record dissemination statute to a specific licensure requirement for social workers only.

REQUIREMENT

Removed the amendment to § 19.2-389 which governed the general dissemination of criminal history records to various state and federal agencies.

Added a new section § 54.1-3707.2 requiring all applicants for baccalaureate, master's, or clinical social worker licensure to submit fingerprints and provide personal information for a federal criminal history record search.

Mandated that the cost for fingerprinting and the criminal history record search be paid by the social work applicant.

ELIGIBILITY

Removed the extensive list of entities (such as schools, nursing homes, and foster care agencies) authorized to request criminal background information for employment or licensing purposes.

ENFORCEMENT

Established a process for applicants to request FBI and state records if their licensure is denied based on criminal history information.

Finance and Appropriations Substitute → Chaptered · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was finalized into law (Chapter 628) after being a Senate substitute. The substantive text of the criminal background check and dissemination laws remains identical, but the effective date for the new section was changed from July 1, 2026, to July 1, 2027. The final version also includes a new requirement for the Department of State Police to form a work group to review concerns about national criminal record checks and report findings by December 1, 2026.

Scope change

The scope of the law's applicability is unchanged; the only change is the delayed effective date for the new social worker licensure background check requirement.

TIMELINE

The effective date for the new criminal background check requirement for social workers was moved from July 1, 2026, to July 1, 2027.

REQUIREMENT

A new mandate was added requiring the Department of State Police to convene a work group to review federal concerns regarding national criminal record checks and report findings to the Governor and General Assembly by December 1, 2026.

TECHNICAL

The document was converted from a draft 'Senate Substitute' to a finalized 'Chaptered' Act, adding official approval dates and chapter numbers, while removing draft headers.

Enrolled → Health and Human Services Substitute · 1 edit

MINOR

The bill was converted from an Enrolled version into a House Substitute version, which primarily involved formatting adjustments and the addition of header metadata. No substantive policy changes, legal text modifications, or new provisions were made to the bill's content.

TECHNICAL

The text was reformatted to include substitute bill headers and draft markings, while the actual legislative language remained identical to the original Enrolled version.

Introduced → Enrolled · 4 edits · Apr 13, 2026

MODERATE

The bill evolved from a proposal to add a new section requiring criminal background checks for social workers into an enrolled act that primarily amends an existing statute regarding the dissemination of criminal history records. While the original intent was to mandate background checks for social work licensure, the final version focuses on defining exactly who can receive criminal history data and under what circumstances, rather than establishing the initial requirement for social workers.

Scope change

The scope shifted from a specific mandate for social worker licensure to a broader amendment of existing laws governing the sharing of criminal records with various government and private entities.

REQUIREMENT

The specific requirement to add a new section (54.1-3707.2) mandating criminal background checks for social workers was removed from the final text.

The final act amends an existing section (19.2-389) to explicitly list the categories of individuals and agencies authorized to receive criminal history record information, including specific provisions for social services and foster care investigations.

TIMELINE

An effective date of July 1, 2026, was established for the amended section regarding the dissemination of criminal history records.

TECHNICAL

The document includes significant formatting changes, such as the transition from 'Introduced' status to 'Enrolled' status and the addition of standard legislative headers and page numbers.

Courts of Justice Substitute → Finance and Appropriations Substitute · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was switched from a Senate Courts of Justice substitute to a Senate Finance and Appropriations substitute, changing the committee responsible for the bill. The substantive text of the legislation remains focused on adding a new section regarding criminal background checks for social workers and amending existing laws on the dissemination of criminal history records.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding the specific legal provisions (social worker licensure checks and criminal record dissemination) has not changed; only the legislative committee handling the bill has changed.

TECHNICAL

The legislative committee proposing the substitute changed from the Senate Committee for Courts of Justice to the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations.

The bill number associated with the amendment changed from 26108952D to 26109434D, likely due to a new version number assigned by the legislature.

The bill text was renumbered and reformatted to reflect the new committee's version, though the core legal language regarding social worker background checks and criminal record dissemination remains identical.

Health and Human Services Substitute → Health Professions Subcommittee Substitute · 1 edit

MINOR

The bill text was reformatted from a continuous block of text to a structured layout with line numbers and headers, but the actual legal content, scope, and requirements remain unchanged.

TECHNICAL

The document structure was updated to include line numbers, headers, and spacing consistent with a House Substitute version, while the substantive legislative text was preserved without modification.

Social work; applicants for licensure, criminal background check, report.

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