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DATE:
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June 23, 2026
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TO:
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Licensed Family Day Homes, Voluntarily Registered Family Day Homes, Licensed Family Day Systems, and Family Day Homes Participating in the Child Care Subsidy Program
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FROM:
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Jeffrey S. Williams, Assistant Superintendent of Child Care Health and Safety, Virginia Department of Education
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SUBJECT:
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2026 Legislation Implementation—Home-Based
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This memo provides updates about legislation that affects certain child day programs in Virginia. This includes information related to:
- House Bill 258 which changes the terms used to describe family day home and family day home systems
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Updates on the implementation of requirements related to stock epinephrine
House Bill 258—Change in Terminology and Impact on Background Check Systems
House Bill 258, passed by the 2026 Virginia General Assembly, updates two terms used throughout the Code of Virginia, the Virginia Administrative Code, and elsewhere.
- The term “family day home” will be changed to “home-based child care.”
- The term “family day system” will be changed to “home-based child care system.”
This legislation updates terminology only. There are no changes to definitions or requirements for licensure resulting from this law.
The Department is working to update these two terms across forms, documents, training materials, and communications. After July 1, providers will begin seeing the new terms in various VDOE materials; however, full implementation will take several months. The Department will update the regulations that define and reference the terms in the coming months, followed by updates to all public-facing technology systems, existing guidance documents, technical assistance resources, and training content. During this transition period, providers may see or hear both terms as the Department implements the changes to comply with the requirement.
Implications for Background Check Systems: Because of this law, the Virginia Department of Social Services-Office of Background Investigations (OBI) has updated all Fieldprint codes to remove references to the previous terms, “family day home” and “family day system.”
What Home-Based Child Care Providers and Home-Based Child Care Systems Need to Know About Fieldprint Codes:
- If a provider uses the provider‑pay model (in effect since January 1, 2026), Fieldprint will send updated information directly to the provider.
- If a provider uses the applicant‑pay model, the applicant must contact OBI to receive the updated generic Fieldprint code before scheduling fingerprints. Contact OBI at backgrounds@dss.virginia.gov to obtain this information.
- Fieldprint will also send email notifications about these changes. Providers should monitor the email address they have on file with Fieldprint.
- For more information, visit the OBI resource page on the VDSS website.
Stock Epinephrine Update
The Department continues to work toward the implementation of § 22.1-289.059 of the Code. The statute requires the Department to amend regulations in order to require certain home-based child care programs to have staff trained in the administration of undesignated epinephrine and to notify parents as to whether the program stocks undesignated epinephrine.
As outlined in a recent memo, the proposed regulatory changes received sufficient public comment to halt a previous regulatory action. Providers do not need to take any action at this time or implement the provisions of epinephrine-related requirements.
The Office of Child Care Health and Safety (OCCHS) will notify providers when the regulations from the proposed stage are published for public comment. The OCCHS will also share implementation procedures and compliance timelines through memos, webinars, and other resources prior to any changes becoming effective.
What’s Next
The Department will share a pre-recorded webinar on the What’s New page prior to July 1, 2026, for programs and providers that would like to watch a video update on these changes. The webinar will be announced in the Readiness Connections Newsletter when it is ready to view.
If you have questions about any of these legislative mandates, please contact your licensing inspector or childcarelicensing@doe.virginia.gov..
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