Virginia § 16.1-309.3 - Establishment of a community-based system of services; biennial local plan; quarterly report

§ 16.1-309.3. Establishment of a community-based system of services; biennial local plan; quarterly report

A. Any county, city, or combination thereof may establish a community-based system pursuant to this article, which shall provide, or arrange to have accessible, a variety of predispositional and postdispositional services. These services may include, but are not limited to, diversion, community service, restitution, house arrest, intensive juvenile supervision, substance abuse assessment and testing, first-time offender programs, intensive individual and family treatment, structured day treatment and structured residential programs, aftercare/parole community supervision, and residential and nonresidential services for juveniles who have been screened for needing community diversion or community-based services using an evidence-based assessment protocol or juvenile offenders who are before intake on complaints or the court on petitions alleging that the juvenile is delinquent, in need of services, or in need of supervision but shall not include secure detention for the purposes of this article. Such community-based systems shall be based on an annual review of court-related data and an objective assessment of the need for services and programs for juveniles who have been screened for needing community diversion or community-based services using an evidence-based assessment protocol or juvenile offenders who are before intake on complaints or the court on petitions alleging that the juvenile is a child in need of services, in need of supervision, or delinquent. The community-based system shall be developed after consultation with the judge or judges of the juvenile and domestic relations district court, the director of the court services unit, the community policy and management team established under § 2.2-5205, and, if applicable, the director of any program established pursuant to § 66-26.

B. Community-based services instituted pursuant to this article shall be administered by a county, city, or combination thereof and may be administered through a community policy and management team established under § 2.2-5204 or a commission established under § 16.1-315. Such programs and services may be provided by qualified public or private agencies, pursuant to appropriate contracts. Any commission established under § 16.1-315 providing predispositional and postdispositional services prior to the enactment of this article which serves the City of Chesapeake or the City of Hampton shall directly receive the proportion of funds calculated under § 16.1-309.7 on behalf of the owner localities. The funds received shall be allocated directly to the member localities. Any member locality which elects to withdraw from the commission shall be entitled to its full allocation as provided in §§ 16.1-309.6 and 16.1-309.7. The Department of Juvenile Justice shall provide technical assistance to localities, upon request, for establishing or expanding programs or services pursuant to this article.

C. Funds provided to implement the provisions of this article shall not be used to supplant funds established as the state pool of funds under § 2.2-5211.

D. Any county, city, or combination thereof which establishes a community-based system pursuant to this article shall biennially submit to the State Board for approval a local plan for the development, implementation, and operation of such services, programs, and facilities pursuant to this article. The plan shall provide (i) the projected number of juveniles served by alternatives to secure detention and (ii) any reduction in secure detention rates and commitments to state care as a result of programs funded pursuant to this article. The State Board shall solicit written comments on the plan from the judge or judges of the juvenile and domestic relations court, the director of the court services unit, and, if applicable, the director of programs established pursuant to § 66-26. Prior to the initiation of any new services, the plan shall also include a cost comparison for the private operation of such services.

E. Each locality shall report quarterly to the Director the data required by the Department to measure progress on stated objectives and to evaluate programs and services within such locality's plan.

1995, cc. 698, 840; 1996, cc. 671, 682; 1997, c. 347; 2000, cc. 195, 806; 2007, c. 813; 2019, c. 105.