The Parental Child Safety Placement Program is established to prevent unnecessary entry into foster care by promoting and supporting placements with relatives and fictive kin and requiring accountability for pre-court placements of children. A local department may facilitate a parental child safety placement arrangement in accordance with the provisions of this article if (i) a family assessment or investigation has been initiated in response to a valid complaint alleging that the child has been abused or neglected; (ii) the safety assessment conducted by the local department indicates that a child cannot remain safely in the home; and (iii) the child's parent, guardian, or legal custodian is in agreement with the parental child safety placement arrangement.
Va. Code § 63.2-1532