qm_winter_2016

23 / 32

Virginia C apitol C onnections, Winter 2016 23
Beaumond Juvenile Correctional Center.
Governor Terry McAuliffe supported a replacement plan in his
biennial budget by including funding for two small, state-of-the-art
juvenile correctional centers in his bond package and authorizing
the reinvestment of correctional savings into building a statewide
continuum of alternative placements and evidenced-based services.
The two new centers, planned in Central Virginia and Hampton
Roads, will improve family contact and reentry planning, be less
expensive to operate, have smaller residential pods and modern
technology, and provide more effective treatment and educational
space. Giving DJJ the authority to reinvest savings as its population
declines will allow the agency to create better treatment options
and alternatives for communities across the Commonwealth, which
research demonstrates work more effectively than incarceration for
MEMBER
Virginia Association of Professional Lobbyists (VAPL)
Association of Government relations professionals (AGRP)
2100 Mediterranean Avenue #113 • Virginia Beach, VA 23451
Phone: 757-513-3967 • Fax: 757-962-4551
Email:
P o l i t i c a l C o n s u l t a n t s
& A ssociates
Ken Jessup
Fine Art Photographer
Seasons House on Trumpington Court
Chester eld, VA 23838-2110
804.739.1955
WANDA JUDD
most youth. The continuum will include expanding partnerships
with locally-operated juvenile detention centers to increase the
number of CPPs.
These two measures will give DJJ the financial tools required
to fulfill the promise of transformation and continue the work it
has already started. Through reinvestment of savings secured as
the committed population continues to decline, DJJ will continue
to expand community-based alternatives in lieu of state facility
placements.
DJJ staff is working hard to transform into a more effective
and efficient system—a system that will get better public safety
and life outcomes for youth, families, and their communities. The
upcoming General Assembly session will determine how far this
transformation can go.
Andrew K. Block Jr. was appointed as the Department of
Juvenile Justice (DJJ) director, effective April 7, 2014. He was
most recently an associate professor and director of the Child
Advocacy Clinic at the University of Virginia School of Law
from 2010-2014. From 1998 until the spring of 2010 he was the
founder and Legal Director of the JustChildren Program of the
Legal Aid Justice Center.
• past editions online
• subscribe
• advertise
WWW. VCCQM . ORG
V