The 2023 Budget bill included requirements for the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security, in collaboration with the Secretary of Education and the Secretary of Health and Human Resources, to evaluate cost savings strategies for the juvenile detention centers (JDCs) and alternative delivery of educational services within the JDCs.

There are a total of 24 JDCs across the Commonwealth. JDCs provide temporary care for youth under secure custody pending a court appearance (pre-D) and those held after disposition (post-D). Educational instruction is required within 24 hours of detainment (or the next school day) and is provided by licensed staff funded by DOE’s Division of State Operated Programs (SOP) and contracted through a local school division. In addition to attending school while in a JDC, youth participate in a structured program of care, which includes medical and mental health screenings and services, recreational and psycho-educational activities, visitation, and volunteer services (e.g., services provided by religious organizations). JDCs provide services for youth in various points of the juvenile justice system.

• All 24 JDC provides pre-D detention, which can be ordered by a judge, intake officer, or magistrate.

• All 24 JDCs provide post-D detention without programs for up to 30 days.

• 18 JDCs provide post-D detention with programs for up to 180 days for most offenses pursuant to § 16.1-284.1 of the Code of Virginia. Treatment services in post-D detention with programs are coordinated by the JDC, the DJJ court service unit (CSU), and the youth’s family, sometimes including local mental health and social services agencies. Individualized services such as anger management, substance use treatment, life skills, career readiness education, and victim empathy are provided to meet youth’s needs.

• 19 JDCs contract with DJJ to facilitate direct care admission and evaluation services, such as medical, psychological, behavioral, educational, career readiness, and sociological evaluations for youth in direct care.

• 6 JDCs contract with DJJ to operate community placement programs (CPPs), evidence-informed residential programs for youth in direct care.

• 6 JDCs contract with DJJ to operate individual bed placements (IBPs) where direct care youth to remain in the JDC for the duration of their commitment and treatment services are secured through DJJ’s regional service coordination (RSC) model of community providers.

• 5 JDCs contract with DJJ to operate detention reentry programs, which allow youth in direct care to transition to the community 30 to 180 days before release.

• 12 JDCs are operated by local governments. Section 16.1-315 of the Code of Virginia permits governing bodies of three or more counties, cities, or towns, by concurrent ordinances or resolutions, to provide for the establishment of a joint or regional citizen JDC commission. 12 JDCs are operated by a commission.

The Board of Juvenile Justice promulgates Regulations Governing Juvenile Secure Detention Centers. DJJ serves as the regulatory agency for the JDCs and monitors compliance to these regulations.

JDCs operate utilizing funding from the localities, DJJ, and, in some instances, grant awards. DJJ funding from the general appropriations act is mandated by § 16.1-322.1 of the Code of Virginia and includes the block grant, state ward per diem, and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) school for the National School Lunch Program. This funding is distributed quarterly. The block grant funding for each JDC is determined utilizing a two-part calculation of the JDC’s licensed capacity and the JDC’s utilized capacity. The state ward per diem provides an allowance to the JDC each day a committed youth remains in the JDC’s population pending transfer to DJJ. This rate is currently $50.00 per day.

DJJ also provides funding to JDCs based on their contracts to serve direct care youth in the admission and evaluation phase and for CPPs, IBPs, and detention reentry programs as described above.