The Virginia General Assembly has enacted significant amendments to Virginia’s mandatory child abuse and neglect reporting statute, Va. Code § 63.2-1509, effective July 1, 2026 (2026 Va. Acts ch. 845). The amendments tighten timelines, strengthen penalties, and impose heightened criminal liability on institutional actors — including hospitals and other facilities providing care and treatment to children – and mandatory reporters who fail to timely report suspected child abuse or neglect within 24 hours. Health care providers, hospital administrators, and compliance officers should review and update their reporting policies and training programs immediately, as appropriate, to ensure all covered employees are aware of the new requirements and penalties.
Existing Hospital Reporting Requirements for Health Professionals
For many years, Virginia law has required the Chief Executive Officer and Chief of Staff of every hospital or other health care institution in the Commonwealth to report to the Director of the Department of Health Professions (“DHP”) certain information about licensed, certified, or registered health professionals, multistate nursing privilege holders, and applicants. The primary reporting statute is summarized below; note that additional statutory reporting requirements also exist. See, e.g., Virginia Code 54.1-2909.
Va. Code § 54.1-2400.6: Key Hospital Reporting Requirements
Hospitals are required to report to the DHP the following concerns regarding professional conduct, impairment, and disciplinary matters:
- Five-day window for reporting for certain admissions: Report within five days after learning of a health professional’s involuntary admission for treatment of substance abuse or psychiatric illness. A report is also required after the 30-day period following a voluntary admission for substance abuse or psychiatric illness, unless the treating physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner provides written confirmation that the professional is no longer believed to be a danger to self, the public, or patients.
- Thirty-day window for reporting reasonable-belief determinations: Report within 30 days after the CEO, chief of staff, director, or administrator determines, after appropriate review, investigation, or consultation with internal boards or committees, that there is a reasonable belief the health professional may have engaged in unethical, fraudulent, or unprofessional conduct.
- Thirty-day window for reporting certain disciplinary proceedings: Report within 30 days after written notice to the health professional that the institution has begun a disciplinary proceeding involving intentional or negligent conduct causing or likely to cause patient injury, professional ethics, professional incompetence, moral turpitude, or substance abuse.
- Thirty-day window for reporting specified disciplinary actions: Report within 30 days after written notice of disciplinary action taken during or at the conclusion of proceedings, or while under investigation, including denial or termination of employment, denial or termination of privileges, or restriction of privileges resulting from the specified categories of conduct.
- Reports for resignations or privilege restrictions while under review: Report voluntary resignation from staff, voluntary restriction of privileges, or expiration of privileges while the health professional is under investigation or subject to disciplinary proceedings for matters related to patient injury risk, medical incompetence, unprofessional conduct, moral turpitude, mental or physical impairment, or substance abuse.
Required report contents and Immunity
Reports must be in writing and include the subject professional’s name, address, and date of birth; a full description of the circumstances; the names and contact information of individuals with knowledge and of individuals consulted to substantiate the facts; relevant medical records when patient care or the professional’s health status is at issue; and notice if the hospital has submitted an NPDB report. The health professional must be provided a copy of the report. Good-faith reporters and participants in related investigations or proceedings receive civil immunity absent bad faith or malicious intent. However, immunity is a defense that must be proven, and it does not bar a lawsuit from being filed. Failure to make a required report may result in a civil penalty of up to $25,000 and may affect licensure, certification, or renewal until the penalty is paid.
Peer review privilege preserved
Compliance with the reporting statute does not waive or limit Virginia’s peer review privilege under Va. Code § 8.01-581.17. The privilege does not bar required reports or requested medical records necessary to investigate reportable unprofessional conduct but privileged materials may be withheld. Hospitals and health systems should confirm that their practitioner health, medical staff, credentialing, peer review, human resources, and compliance processes identify when a matter triggers reporting under Va. Code § 54.1-2400.6 and other reporting statutes, in addition to the child abuse reporting requirements addressed in this advisory. Written policies should be updated to reflect the amendments to the revised child abuse reporting requirements outlined below.
ACTION REQUIRED: Review and understand the amendments to Virginia Code § 63.2-1509.In the new subsection F, a required reporter (identified in subsection A) must report suspected child abuse or neglect within 24 hours of having reason to suspect a reportable offense. Under the new subsection C, a reason for suspicion includes any suspected violation of §§ 18.2-370 through 18.2-370.6 or § 18.2-374.3 involving a child. The statute’s requirements are further summarized below.
1. “Who is required to report suspected child abuse or neglect in Virginia?”
Overview: A Broad Mandatory Reporting Framework
Virginia’s mandatory reporting statute, Va. Code § 63.2-1509, requires a wide range of professionals who, in their professional or official capacity, have reason to suspect a child is abused or neglected to report immediately to the local department of social services or to the Department’s toll-free child abuse and neglect hotline. The list of mandatory reporters is extensive and includes:
- Any person licensed to practice medicine or any of the healing arts
- Any hospital resident or intern, and any person employed in the nursing profession
- Any person employed as a social worker or family-services specialist
- Any mental health professional
- Any professional staff person employed by a private or state-operated hospital, institution, or facility to which children have been placed for care and treatment or committed
- Any person 18 years of age or older associated with or employed by any public or private organization responsible for the care, custody, or control of children
- Emergency medical services providers certified by the Board of Health
- Any person who engages in the practice of behavior analysis, as defined in § 54.1-2900
This is not an exhaustive list. For health care institutions, virtually all clinical and support staff with patient contact — including physicians, nurses, therapists, social workers, and EMS personnel — may be mandatory reporters under Virginia law.
2. “What triggers a reporting obligation?”
Standard: Reason to Suspect
A reporting obligation arises when a covered professional has “reason to suspect” a child is abused or neglected. The current statute defines this standard as extending to three clinical scenarios:
- Substance-affected newborns: A health care provider finding within six weeks of birth that the child was born affected by substance abuse or experiencing withdrawal symptoms from in utero drug exposure.
- Substance-related diagnoses: A diagnosis made within four years of birth that the child has an illness, disease, or condition attributable to maternal abuse of a controlled substance during pregnancy.
- Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders: A diagnosis made within four years of birth that the child has a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder attributable to in utero alcohol exposure.
When “reason to suspect” is based on one of these clinical findings, that fact must be included in the report. Critically, such reports do not constitute a per se finding of child abuse or neglect.
The amended statute has expanded the definition of a “reason to suspect that a child is an abused or neglected child” to include any suspected violation of the offenses defined in Va. Code §§ 18.2-370 through 18.2-370.6 or § 18.2-374.3 involving a child.[1]
3. “How quickly must a report be made?”
The 24-Hour Reporting Deadline
Reports must be made as soon as possible, and not later than 24 hours after the covered professional has reason to suspect a reportable offense. A report not made within 24 hours may create compliance risk if the delay cannot be shown to be reasonable under the circumstances. The initial report may be oral but must be reduced to writing by the child abuse coordinator of the local department on a form prescribed by the Board of Social Services.
For employees of hospitals or similar institutions, a covered employee may, in lieu of making a direct report, immediately notify the person in charge of the institution or a designated person in charge, who must then make the report “forthwith.” If this internal notification route is used, the person in charge must:
- Notify the original reporter when the report is made to the local department or the hotline
- Provide the name of the individual who received the report
- Forward any resulting communications, including information about actions taken, to the original reporter
All mandatory reporters who maintain records on the child must cooperate with investigating agencies and make related records available, subject to applicable federal law (including FERPA). Health care providers’ provision of such records is not prohibited by Virginia’s privacy statute in Va. Code § 8.01-399.
4. “What are the penalties for failing to report — and what changed in 2026?”
New Rule: Significantly Strengthened Criminal Penalties
The 2026 amendments added new penalty provisions to Va. Code § 63.2-1509 specifically targeting hospitals and similar facilities. The penalty structure is now as follows:
General Failures to Report (Subsection D/E):
- First failure to timely report: civil fine of not more than $500
- Subsequent failures: civil fine of not less than $1,000
- Knowing and intentional failure where the reportable offense involves rape, sodomy, aggravated sexual battery, or object sexual penetration: Class 1 misdemeanor
NEW — Potential Healthcare Institutional Criminal Liability (New Subsection F): New subsection F, arguably the most significant addition to the statute, imposes heightened criminal liability specifically where the alleged abuse or neglect occurred at a private or state-operated hospital, institution, or facility to which children have been committed or placed for care and treatment as follows:
- Failure to report as soon as possible and not longer than 24 hours after having reason to suspect a reportable offense: Class 1 misdemeanor (punishable by up to 12 months in jail and/or a $2,500 fine)
- Second or subsequent conviction under this subsection: Class 6 felony (punishable by 1–5 years in prison, or up to 12 months in jail and/or a $2,500 fine at the court’s discretion)
This is a material escalation from prior law. Hospitals and other covered facilities should treat any employee’s failure to file a timely report as a potential criminal matter warranting immediate review by legal counsel.
5. “Are there protections for good-faith reporters?”
Immunity for Good-Faith Reports
Virginia law provides broad immunity for mandatory reporters. Under Va. Code § 63.2-1509(D) — renumbered in the 2026 amendments but preserved— any person who:
- makes a report or provides records or information pursuant to the statute, or
- testifies in any judicial proceeding arising from such report, records, or information
shall be immune from any civil or criminal liability or administrative penalty or sanction on account of such report, records, information, or testimony, unless the person acted in bad faith or with malicious purpose.
This immunity should be communicated clearly to all mandatory reporters within an institution to encourage timely and complete reporting.
6. “Are there any exceptions to the reporting obligation?”
Limited Exception: Actual Knowledge of Prior Report
Under the statute, no person is required to make a report if the person has actual knowledge that the same matter has already been reported to the local department or the Department’s toll-free child abuse and neglect hotline.[2] This exception is narrow: constructive knowledge or a general belief that someone else “likely reported” is insufficient. Institutions should not rely on this exception unless they can confirm that a specific, prior report has actually been filed.
Hospital and Health System Action Items
- Immediately review and update internal mandatory reporting policies to reflect the new institutional penalty provisions (new Subsection F) and 24-hour deadline.
- Train all clinical and administrative staff on who is a mandatory reporter, what triggers a reporting obligation, and how to make and document a report.
- Designate and confirm reporting contacts (persons in charge or their designees) and ensure those individuals understand their obligation to report forthwith and notify the original reporter.
- Educate staff of the broad immunity protection for good-faith reports.
- Review any policies that might delay or discourage reporting and revise as appropriate to reduce potential criminal exposure for reporting delays.
Consult legal counsel immediately if a reporting failure is discovered at your institution, given the new Class 1 misdemeanor and Class 6 felony exposure.
References
[1] Va. Code § 63.2-1509(C), as amended by 2026 Va. Acts ch. 845 (H.B. 1414).
[2] Va. Code § 63.2-1509(G) (formerly subsection E), as amended by 2026 Va. Acts ch. 845.
For questions about this advisory, please contact the Hancock Daniel & Johnson, LLC team at (804) 967-9604 or visit hancockdaniel.com.
The information contained in this advisory is for general educational purposes only. It is presented with the understanding that neither the author nor Hancock, Daniel & Johnson LLC, is offering any legal or other professional services. Since the law in many areas is complex and can change rapidly, this information may not apply to a given factual situation and can become outdated. Individuals desiring legal advice should consult legal counsel for up-to-date and fact-specific advice. Under no circumstances will the author or Hancock, Daniel & Johnson LLC be liable for any direct, indirect, or consequential damages resulting from the use of this material.
