• Family laws in Virginia are designed to help families thrive.family image by Pavel Losevsky from Fotolia.com
  
  In Virginia, two agencies provide the oversight for family laws there: the Division of Child Support and the Department of Social Services. The purpose of the laws is to ensure that families who reside in the state receive the support and services that they need to thrive. Understanding the laws can help residents avoid entering the state's legal system.
  
  

Children Left Home Alone

• Virginia does not specify an age when children can be left home alone. Parents must take the maturity level of the child into consideration before they leave them home alone. Children must be mentally, physically, and emotionally capable of caring for themselves before they are left alone. The neighborhood or environment where children are left alone must also be safe. Arrangements should be made so that the child can physically get help from another responsible and mature adult in case of emergency. Parents are required to leave a telephone number and location with their children that provides their whereabouts while they are away. Parents are encouraged not to leave their children home alone at night or for long periods of time.
  
  

Child Abuse

• Child abuse reports can be made anonymously by dialing the Virginia Department of Social Services' Child Protective Services hotline at 800-552-7096. Provide information on the child, the suspected abuser, and the incident of abuse. This information might include the child's name, residence, the abuser's name and residential address, and whether or not the child was struck, sexually abused, or made to go hungry. The minor must be below the age of 18 at the time of the abuse. Child Protective Services evaluates all claims of abuse.
  
  

Family Adoption and Temporary Residence Background Checks

• Public and private firms that perform adoptions are required to conduct a fingerprint/background investigation on all persons who apply to adopt a child in the state, including each individual who resides in the prospective adopter's household. Background investigations must also be conducted on everyone, including relatives, who agrees to accept a child into their home as a foster parent or on an emergency temporary basis. Federal, national, state, and local criminal checks will be made during the investigations.
  
  

Financial Assistance for Needy Families

• The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program provides financial assistance to low- income families that include one or more biological or adoptive minors under the age of 18 living in the household. Minors between the ages of 5 and 18 years must attend school for the family to receive TANF. The caregiver's income and the number of minor children who live in the household determine the amount of assistance the family is eligible to receive. Low-income women with children aged five years and younger are eligible to apply for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) financial assistance. WIC wage eligibility varies depending on the number of people in the family. For example, a woman who earned $26,955 a year as of June 2010 and who only had one child could be eligible to receive WIC. A woman with two children could earn up to $40,793 a year and be eligible to receive WIC. Men, womenm and their children in no- or low-income brackets can receive food stamps through Virginia's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Residents aged 18 to 50 years who are physically and mentally able to work might be required to obtain employment before they receive SNAP. Benefits last from 3 to 36 months depending on the length of the family's need. Baby formula, vegetable seeds, food, snack foods, herbs, and meals for the elderly can be purchased using the SNAP debit card.