HD64 - Juvenile Correctional Center Utilization Report - Update


Executive Summary:
2006 Virginia Acts of Assembly Special Session I Chapter 3 Item 406 B.:

"The Department of Juvenile Justice shall update its October 2004 "Juvenile Correctional Center Utilization Report" to incorporate the results of the revised 2006 state and local juvenile offender population forecast that will be presented October 15, 2006 to the Governor by the Secretary of Public Safety. The updated report prepared by the department shall address its plans for the utilization of the state's juvenile correctional centers. Such report shall first be based upon funding and staffing levels included in this act, and may include alternative plans, including utilization of excess local detention home capacity."

A Juvenile Correctional Center (JCC) Utilization Report was issued in October, 2004, in response to language included in the 2004 Appropriation Act. The 2005 Appropriation Act contained language authorizing the department, in response to the plan, to mothball Barrett JCC, and to expand the utilization of Culpeper JCC. Those changes have been implemented, with additional utilization at Culpeper expected to come on line late in FY07, based on additional phased resources provided in the 2006 Appropriation Act.

In developing this report, we have reviewed recent changes in the population of committed juveniles and considered additional programmatic changes and needs.

Sight and Sound Separation

As noted in our earlier, report, the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) is required to meet "Sight and Sound Separation" requirements established by U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), regulations. This requires that wards who are convicted as adults (i.e. in Circuit Court) will, no later than 6 months of reaching the age of 18, be kept "sight and sound separated" from juvenile wards committed to the state through the Juvenile and Domestic Relations (J&DR) District Courts. Implementing the compliance plan involved significant physical plant, operational, and programmatic issues.

The Department was also challenged to deliver quality programs and services to its special populations (e.g., low intellectual functioning wards, sexual offenders, substance abusers, etc.) under the constraints of sight and sound separation. The Department came into compliance with the OJJDP sight and sound separation requirement as of May 2006 (See Appendix A), with the exception of the Department's stance on low intellectual functioning wards, who have special needs, and who could face risks from higher functioning wards in other facilities. The current compliance plan uses an individual case review of wards 18 and over at Oak Ridge JCC. Based on this case review, a placement decision is then made in the best interest of the ward. This provision was included in the plan the department submitted to OJJDP, and no negative response has been received.

For planning purposes expressed in this document, the following definitions are used:

Age <18 -- includes all wards under the age of 18 who were committed by a J&DR or a circuit court.
Age 18+ Not CC -- includes wards who have attained the age of 18 and were committed by J&DR court, and not by the circuit court.
Age 18+ CC -- includes all wards who have attained the age of 18 and were committed by the circuit court.

Underlying Philosophy

The Department of Juvenile Justice is charged with improving public safety through programs operated by the department. Additionally, DJJ provides funding to localities to maintain a range of services that are administered in the communities and in secure detention.

For those juvenile committed to the state, the department provides a secure environment designed to prepare them for return to their communities with an enhanced ability to become productive citizens, and thus a reduced risk to the safety of the public. This effort includes coordinated parole planning, as well as cooperation and coordination with the many local agencies which will provide services to these young people after they are released. Because education is a primary factor in determining success, DJJ works closely with the Department of Correctional Education (DCE) to support the schools operated within the JCCS, to plan for transition to local schools or jobs after release, and to continue to encourage our wards to be good citizens outside of the correctional center setting. Planning for utilization of juvenile correctional centers must incorporate these ultimate goals.

The JCCs in the department's inventory were designed and built to meet needs that have changed over the years. DJJ's utilization plan makes the best use of those facilities to meet the current and projected system needs. Some facilities were designed to house wards who presented high security risks, while others are more appropriate for housing minimum security risks. But in addition to risk levels, DJJ must consider ward ages, physical size, treatment and educational needs.

The number of wards who are over the age of 18 at release has grown considerably over the years. These wards require additional preparation for their reentry into society. In FY05, 39%of wards released from DJJ were over the age of 18, including those committed by J&DR and Circuit Court.

JCCs and Plans for Utilization

Although DJJ's inventory of facilities includes several large JCCS, we are implementing new practices to reduce the size of ward groupings within those centers to allow for improved interrelations with staff, and for improved security and treatment settings. Smaller groupings within the juvenile correctional centers, along with use of a unit management concept, allow staff to model behavior and interact with wards in a manner that supports learning appropriate and adaptive behavior. Such grouping removes the feeling that wards may not be safe or that they are "lost in the shuffle." This approach allows wards to be treated as individuals and prepares them to begin the transition from secure confinement to less secure settings and the eventual return to the community. Additionally, to support these changes, a new incentive based behavior management program was recently developed by DJJ and the DCE staff and is now being implemented.

Use of Available Local Detention Capacity for State Committed Wards

The budget language requesting this report also asked the department to consider using available local detention beds for state committed wards. DJJ currently contracts for two pilot programs, each housing 10 state wards in local detention facilities (Shenandoah Valley Detention Center in Staunton, and Tidewater Regional Detention Home in Chesapeake). These programs are intended to place certain juveniles closer to their homes, and in smaller, more intensive, settings. Through an ongoing evaluation process, DJJ is working with these facilities to determine whether such settings produce improved outcomes.

At the 2006 General Assembly, an additional pilot project was funded to enhance the reentry process for wards leaving JCCS. Negotiations are underway with several local detention centers to allow DJJ to place wards in their facilities, located in the same communities to which the wards will be released, during the last 30-90 days of incarceration. During this time, parole officers will work to increase family visitation and reintegration, and will contract to have treatment, education, work preparation, etc. services provided by the same community entities that will provide these services after release. An evaluation component will determine whether these pilot programs improve outcomes following release.

Most detention facilities cannot house wards who are over 18 years of age. For this growing portion of our incarcerated population, use of detention space is not an option.

Continuing Challenges

There are a number of challenges that DJJ faces in its attempt to improve the outcomes for juveniles who are committed to the state. As noted, DJJ's institutionalized population includes a greater number of older youth than in the past. These wards require different programming to prepare them to live on their own after release. As will be shown in subsequent sections of this report, the lengths of stay for committed youth have been increasing, particularly considering the numbers of juveniles committed to DJJ after having been convicted in Circuit Courts.

The relatively small number of females in the JCC population requires additional planning for meeting their specialized needs. Wards have differing educational needs (particularly those at the middle school level vs. those in high school vs. those who already have earned diplomas or GEDS). As mentioned earlier, many wards have varying treatment requirements, while others suffer mental handicaps, and others, because they were committed in Circuit Courts, must be held sight and sound separate from the rest of the population.

This plan attempts to balance all these needs with the resources that are available to the department to increase successful outcomes for juveniles committed to DJJ. The following sections provide more specific information.

Part I includes a description of DJJ's facilities.
Part II examines historical juvenile offender trends.
Part III looks at juveniles currently in DJJ's facilities.
Part IV reflects DJJ's state responsible juvenile offender population forecast.
Part V offers a summary of the data illustrated in this report.
Part VI looks at Hanover's storm damage.