The Virginia Advisory Legislative Council Committee to Study Services to Youthful Offenders was organized and is conducting its study pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution No. 17 of the 1974 Session of the General Assembly.

The Council originally organized the study of services to youthful offenders pursuant to House Joint Resolution No. 133 of the 1972 Session of the General Assembly which directed a study of the planning for and delivery of services to youthful offenders and the need for improvement to the probation and parole system for all offenders. Pursuant to this Resolution, the Council appointed Senator Lawrence Douglas Wilder, of Richmond, to act as Chairman of the study. Senator Wilder, with the approval of the Council, appointed the following persons to serve as members of the Committee: Mr. France M. Brinkley of Richmond; Mrs. Virginia Crockford of Richmond; Mrs. Margaret Dungee of Glen Allen; Delegate Wyatt B. Durrette, Jr., of Falls Church; Senator William E. Fears of Accomac; Mr. Anthony C. Gaudio of Fredericksburg; Mr. Leonard W. Lambert of Richmond; Reverend J. Fletcher Lowe, Jr., of Richmond; Senator William V. Rawlings of Capron; and Senator Stanley B. Walker of Norfolk.

Early in its study, the Committee determined that there was a definite need to obtain as much information as possible concerning the types of programs now being offered by the State to youthful offenders, and to all offenders generally, by the probation and parole system. To this end, the Committee invited each State agency involved in the planning for and delivery of services to youthful offenders and in the probation and parole system to appear before the members. After hearing from these State agencies, the Committee felt that it should tour some of the facilities mentioned at its previous meetings to determine how these facilities were operating their programs.

In early spring of 1973, the Council decided that it would be an impossible task to review all the programs concerned with youthful offenders. In conjunction with the State Crime Commission and by the use of Law Enforcement Assistance Administration funds obtained through the Division of Justice and Crime Prevention as well as funds of the Council and the Commission, a study of the delivery of . sevices to juvenile and youthful offenders and the probation and parole system was conducted by the John Howard Association. Realizing the report of the Association would not be available until February of 1974, the Council submitted an interim report requesting an extension of the study to review this report. The request for extension was approved by the General Assembly.

On February 15, 1974, the John Howard Association submitted its report to the Council and the State Crime Commission. Since that date, the Committee has met on a regular basis to consider the proposals contained in the Association's Report. In order to undertake this review, the Committee studied various parts of the Report by use of subcommittees.

Since the organization of this Committee and the submission of the John Howard Association Report, some changes for the better have been made in the corrections system. The innovative programs, which have been recently implemented, have resulted from the public interest, attention of the news media, and the action of the executive and legislative branches of government. The Virginia General Assembly passed two bills which have had a direct effect on this process, and increased its budget allocation for the strengthening of the Division of Probation and Parole. The first bill separated the Department of Corrections from the former Department of Welfare and Institutions. The second bill created the Rehabilitative School Authority to administer all educational programs within the Department of Corrections. As a result of the former bill, the Department of Corrections is now able to act with an independence which it has not had in over twenty years.

The Council would like to take this opportunity to commend the Division of Youth Services for implementing a number of the recommendations of the John Howard Association. For example, several of the juvenile institutions are being converted to coeducational facilities. The reception and diagnostic function for the entire State at the Reception and Diagnostic Center at Bon Air is slowly being phased out. There are plans to provide more individual rooms in place of the present dormitory living arrangements. The Council realizes, however, that there is much more work to be done before the juvenile offenders can be given the treatment and rehabilitative services needed to make them productive citizens of this Commonwealth.