May is Foster Care Awareness Month, which creates an opportunity to highlight the challenges, triumphs, and tragedies that still exist within Virginia's foster care system.   The post-COVID-19 environment created a surge in substance use, mental health, and domestic violence-related incidents- which has had an unfortunate downstream impact on the Child Welfare system. There were over 35,000 cases of abuse and neglect in Virginia last year alone. While many of these kids are able to be placed in kinship arrangements or their families are given supportive services, there are many more who have no other option than to enter into the foster care system. There are currently 5,000 kids in care and approximately 1,600 that are seeking a place to call home- a place to belong. Sadly, Virginia still ranks #50 in the nation for kids aging out of the foster care system- meaning that these kids never found a family to belong to before the age of 18.  Virginia's Kids Belong (VKB) is an organization dedicated to helping every kid in care achieve a sense of belonging. We leverage the three community pillars to partner with faith, government and business leaders to solve the community's toughest problems for the most vulnerable among…

Below are important updates from Virginia ABC Licensing, including the new laws that will go into effect on July 1. There are also important updates for training opportunities that help protect your business.    Information on Crossover Products In this year’s session of the Virginia General Assembly, two bills were passed (HB 1979 and SB 809) that regulate a family of alcoholic beverages that we refer to as crossover products. There is the obvious potential for consumer confusion when products that contain alcohol are merchandised on shelves/displays that are adjacent to (or intermingled with) products that appeal primarily to an audience that is not of legal drinking age. The potential for confusion is compounded by the fact that many popular soft drink brands have made the jump into this crossover category and by leveraging the equity and recognizability of their brands have blurred the ability of a consumer to easily tell which products contain alcohol and which do not.Please keep in touch with your Special Agent with regard to how to stay compliant with the rules set forth by this legislation in effect July 1.  Find Your Local Regional Office here   DMV Announces New ID Design Virginia’s newly designed driver’s licenses and identification (ID)…

On Wednesday, April 12th, the General Assembly returned to Richmond for the one-day “Reconvened” Session. This is where the House and Senate review the Governor’s amendments and vetoes to legislation communicated to him following the regular legislative session. Procedurally, when the Governor amends a bill, the chamber in which the bill originated considers the Governor’s amendments first. If that chamber agrees to the amendments, the bill crosses over to the other chamber. The amendments are then either agreed to or voted down.  If the amendment is voted down, the original bill is communicated back to the Governor for his signature or veto. If the amendment is agreed to, that is the version that will become law on July 1st. In total, 819 pieces of legislation were communicated to Governor Youngkin following the 2023 General Assembly Session. Of those, Governor Youngkin signed 738, sent amendments back for 78, and vetoed 3 bills. All 3 vetoes were upheld. While many amendments were agreed to, there were serval that were not agreed to by the Legislature. This means the bill is back to the Governor for either signature as is, or a veto. While there was a great deal of legislative action, the…

  12:00 PM – 1:00 PM ET Wednesday, March 29, 2023