RD70 - Annual Report on the Demographic Characteristics of Juveniles Incarcerated in State Juvenile Correctional Institutions


Executive Summary:
The Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) published the first Data Resource Guide in 2001. Since that time it has become a key source of information for those who work with juveniles in the Commonwealth. You will find descriptions of the agency and the programs it operates and funds, demographics and other data on court involved young people, and a wealth of information on how we do our jobs. It also provides an overview of the resources appropriated to us and how we utilized them.

The information in this Guide is used to assess needs for both the Commonwealth as a whole and for specific localities, and allows us to determine whether programs we operate are making a difference in the lives of the juveniles with whom we work.

Much more work goes into putting a document like this together than simply manipulating information in a database. The information is generated through staff interactions with juveniles and the courts, as well as assessments completed by a number of professionals. Entering and verifying the data is time consuming. However, if we are to make good decisions about what needs have to be met, and the best means for addressing those needs, then we need the best information available.

Improvements to public safety and treatment are expensive, but DJJ is committed to utilizing the most cost effective means reasonable. We have an obligation to deliver quality services that make a difference, measure the results of what we do, and to improve on those results whenever possible. Reliable data tells us where we need to make changes or modify strategies. I hope that as you look through this Guide you will come away with the sense that while the problems faced in our Juvenile and Domestic Relations Courts are serious, we are finding better ways to deal with them.

DJJ staff are professionals who care about their communities and the young people who live in them. Whether those staff work in community settings, juvenile correctional centers, or support services, we need to recognize what they do and the dedication they show every day in their jobs. We also need to acknowledge the many employees in locally operated programs who are integral parts of Virginia’s system of care and security. When we do our jobs well, what we do is invisible to most of our citizens. It is often only when a young person does something bad that the public becomes aware of what we face every day. This Guide helps to shed light on both the issues we face, and the good that is accomplished.

It is important to acknowledge and thank the Department of Criminal Justice Services and our federal partners at the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention for the grant funding and assistance that allowed us to publish this Guide. I would also like to recognize the staff of our Research and Evaluation Section who put this document together and who provide the analysis needed to make reasoned programmatic decisions.