Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court Abuse and Neglect Data
What am I looking at?
The data presented on this page is sourced from the Virginia Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court Case Management System (JCMS). The data is compiled and presented pursuant to Virginia Code § 63.2-1530 (B)(5) and represent cases initiated on or after the 2013 fiscal year (July 1st 2012 - June 30th 2013) onwards. For data prior to the 2013 fiscal year, please view the historical reports page.
The data were extracted from JCMS and reflect the data as entered by the court clerks in JCMS as of September in the years after the 2013 fiscal year (July 1 - June 30). Data from the JCMS is grouped into two sections:
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Abuse and Neglect Cases- The data contained in this "Abuse and Neglect Cases" section reflect the number of cases in which one of the specified orders was issued. The data do not reflect when multiple orders of the same type are issued in one case.
- Petitions Filed Alleging Abuse & Neglect- The data reflect the number of petitions filed and not the number of children alleged to have been abused or neglected, as more than one petition may be filed for an individual child.
- Cases with Emergency Removal Order (ERO) Issued- The data reflect the number of cases in which an ERO was issued. The number of petitions filed and the number of cases with an ERO issued may not be equal if 1) an ERO was not the remedy requested by the local department of social services; 2) the case was withdrawn at the request of the local department of social services; or 3) based on the evidence presented, the court denied the ERO and (a) scheduled the case for a preliminary hearing, and/or (b) issued a PCPO (Preliminary Child Protective Order).
- Cases with Preliminary Removal Order (PRO) Issued Prior to Adjudicatory Hearing- The data reflect the number of cases in which a PRO was issued prior to an adjudicatory hearing. Included in the data are cases in which both a PRO and a Preliminary Child Protective Order (PCPO) were issued. The number of petitions filed and the number of cases with a PRO issued prior to the adjudicatory hearing may not be equal if the case was dismissed by the court or withdrawn at the request of the local department of social services.
- Cases with PRO and/or Preliminary Child Protective Order (PCPO) Issued at Preliminary Hearing- The data reflect the number of cases in which the court issued a PRO, PCPO, or both, at a preliminary hearing. The number of petitions filed and the number of cases with a PRO, PCPO, or both, issued at a preliminary hearing may not be equal if the case was dismissed by the court or withdrawn at the request of the local department of social services. PROs included in "PRO Issued Prior to Adjudicatory Hearing" data may be duplicated in the "PRO and/or PCPO Issued at Preliminary Hearing" data.
- Cases with PCPO or CPO Issued Other Than at Preliminary Hearing- The data reflect the number of cases in which the court issued a PCPO or CPO at a hearing other than a preliminary hearing. Included in the data are cases in which both a PRO and PCPO were issued. The number of petitions filed and the number of cases with a PCPO or CPO issued at a hearing other than a preliminary hearing may not be equal if 1) a PCPO or CPO was not the remedy requested by the local department of social services; or 2) the case was dismissed by the court or withdrawn at the request of the local department of social services.
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Family Abuse Cases- The data contained in the "Family Abuse Cases" section reflect the number of orders issued, of the specified type (see below), and do not reflect the total number of persons protected.
- Family Abuse Emergency Protective Orders (EPO) Issued- The majority of EPOs are issued by magistrates and the resulting paperwork is sent to the appropriate JDR or combined court for indexing. For purposes of JCMS, the file date for an EPO case heard by a magistrate is the date when the EPO is indexed in JCMS.
- Family Abuse Protective Order (PO) Petitions Filed- The data reflect the number of family abuse protective order petitions filed with the Virginia Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court in the selected timeframe.
- Family Abuse POs Issued- The data reflect the number of family abuse protective orders issued pursuant to Va. Code § 16.1-279.1 based on 1) the filing of an initial petition for a family abuse protective order; 2) the extension or modification of an existing family abuse protective order upon the filing of a motion to amend; 3) the issuance of a family abuse protective order upon conviction for violation of a protective order under Va. Code § 16.1-253.2; and 4) the issuance of a family abuse protective order upon conviction in a criminal matter. Accordingly, the number of family abuse protective order petitions filed cannot be directly linked to the number of family abuse protective orders issued.
How do I use this page?
Start by selecting last year in the Select Year drop-down. Then select your city or county from the map. Each chart will update to show specific data for the locality/localities and timeframe you specify.
Once you are familiar with that data, experiment with selecting different years and adding additional cities and counties. Or narrow the focus by selecting a particular type of court order or selecting one item in a chart to narrow the focus.
Bear in mind...
This data includes cases that were entered by court clerks for the fiscal year selected (e.g. 2017 = cases entered from July 1st 2016 - June 30th 2017).
