HB 768

COURTS OF JUSTICE

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; report

COURTS OF JUSTICE

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2. That the Board of Psychology (the Board), in consultation with the Board of Medicine, shall convene a stakeholder advisory group no later than July 1, 2026, to study and make recommendations to the General Assembly regarding the availability of qualified mental health professionals willing to serve as court-appointed experts in family law proceedings, including in custody evaluations. The advisory group shall include licensed psychologists and psychiatrists who perform custody evaluations, representatives of the Virginia State Bar Family Law Section, circuit court judges who preside over domestic relations matters, and such other stakeholders as the Board deems appropriate. The advisory group shall (i) examine the extent to which licensing board complaints and investigation processes deter qualified professionals from accepting court appointments, (ii) review regulatory approaches adopted by other states to address this issue, and (iii) assess whether regulatory or statutory action is warranted in Virginia to provide appropriate protections for mental health professionals serving as court-appointed evaluators while maintaining adequate standards of professional accountability. The advisory group shall also develop specific recommendations to increase the number of qualified mental health professionals willing to perform court-appointed custody evaluations and provide expert testimony in child custody and other domestic relations cases in Virginia's courts, including any training, certification, compensation, liability, or regulatory reforms that would expand the pool of available evaluators and improve access to expert testimony. The Board shall report its findings and recommendations to the Chairs of the Senate Committee for Courts of Justice and the House Committee on Health and Human Services no later than November 1, 2026.