The Compensation Board is pleased to present this report summarizing the implementation of revised staffing standards in conjunction with an extensive review and time study of the workload of Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorneys in Virginia.

In the 2021 Special Session I of the General Assembly, funding was appropriated to the Compensation Board to contract with the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) to perform a time study as to the comprehensive duties and responsibilities of Commonwealth’s Attorneys’ offices in Virginia. The study was intended to quantify all workload while also enabling development of a revised staffing standard by the Compensation Board for the allocation of Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney positions and related Commonwealth funding across all offices.

Through the work of NCSC and with the assistance of the leadership and membership of the Virginia Association of Commonwealth’s Attorneys over a two-year period, the Virginia Prosecutor Workload Assessment Final Report of the NCSC was completed in the summer of 2023. The Compensation Board subsequently reviewed and accepted the report and adopted revisions to its staffing standards methodology for the allocation of Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney positions, along with revisions to its criteria for allocating Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney positions and Paralegal and Administrative support positions to address some of the findings reported in the conclusions and recommendations of the report.

The Compensation Board would like to thank the leadership and members of the Virginia Association of Commonwealth’s Attorneys that participated as members of the Steering Committee and/or the Advisory Committee, Commonwealth’s Attorneys and Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorneys that contributed as members of the Quality Adjustment Panels, and all Commonwealth’s Attorneys and Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorneys that participated in the extensive time study to quantify time and workload engaged in the offices of all Commonwealth’s Attorneys across Virginia. The Board and Staff are thankful for the cooperation and efforts of Commonwealth’s Attorneys and their Assistants in this reporting process. The Board and Staff also are grateful and acknowledge the extensive efforts of Amanda Howie, Administrator for the Virginia Association of Commonwealth’s Attorneys, to engage and coordinate workgroup members and all Commonwealth’s Attorneys’ offices in the necessary work of the study. Lastly, the Compensation Board thanks the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court for the assistance of staff in developing data queries to deliver case filings data and specialty court docket data that is fundamental to the new staffing methodology.

Questions or comments regarding this report should be directed to Robyn de Socio, Executive Secretary for the Compensation Board, at (804) 225-3439 or via e-mail at robyn.desocio@scb.virginia.gov.