Children’s Ombudsman lays out FY2025 findings, urges workforce investments and centralized intake

Eric Reynolds, director of the Office of the Children’s Ombudsman, told the Commission on Youth the office received 466 complaints in fiscal 2025 and that 88 of the state’s 120 local departments of social services were the subject of at least one complaint. Reynolds said most contacts come from parents and relatives and that many matters are outside the office’s authority, including private custody and child-support disputes.

Reynolds described the office’s case process: many complaints are screened out; 315 advanced to preliminary assessment and 32 met the threshold for full investigation in FY2025. He said investigations are opened when practice issues are significant, recurring or may affect a child’s health or welfare. "We have the power to investigate actions of child welfare agencies," Reynolds said, explaining the office’s statutory mission and limits.

Reynolds summarized recurring practice problems substantiated by investigations: staff bias toward complainants, inconsistent participation by multidisciplinary teams, insufficient follow-up with mandated reporters, problems with case transfers across jurisdictions and inconsistent documentation for permanency decisions. He also noted a persistent lack of meaningful engagement with fathers.

On child fatalities, Reynolds said the office’s notifications in FY2025 showed highest counts among very young children (infants under 1 month and children between 1 and 2 years) and that repeatedly documented contributing conditions included unsafe sleep, parental substance exposure (12 cases cited in his slides), domestic violence and parental mental‑health conditions. Reynolds cautioned that these documented conditions are not always proved to be the direct cause of death but are recurring risk factors.

The report’s system‑level recommendations include: investing in recruitment, retention and training for local child‑welfare staff; considering a centralized intake and validation process to reduce inconsistent screening across 120 independent localities; increasing the statutory CPS 24‑hour response window (currently required for children under age 2) to cover children under age 3; expanding legal advocacy by increasing compensation for court‑appointed guardians ad litem; piloting multidisciplinary representation teams for parents; and studying creation of a statutory children’s cabinet to coordinate cross‑agency responses to parental substance use, youth mental health, maternal health and other statewide child welfare concerns.

When asked about the feasibility of a centralized intake, Reynolds said he had heard both support and opposition from stakeholders and suggested any central model might include waivers for localities that meet defined criteria. On enforcement, he was explicit about the office’s limits: "We don't have enforcement authority as a true ombuds office," Reynolds said, adding that the office issues written findings and recommendations and shares reports with local directors and the Virginia Department of Social Services.

Commission members asked about data limitations and disclosure rules; Reynolds said VDSS maintains broader fatality data but that state law constrains certain public disclosures and that the office would examine other states’ practices for more actionable, confidential reporting.

The commission thanked Reynolds for the report. The ombudsman’s recommendations were later discussed alongside juvenile‑justice proposals and some related items were endorsed by the commission during the same meeting.