Authority: §§ 16.1-278.8, 16.1-285.1, 66-13, 66-16, 66-18, 66-19, 66-22 and 66-25.1, Code of Virginia.

A. The Department of Juvenile Justice shall retain all funds paid for the support of children committed to the department to be used for the security, care, and treatment of said children.

B.1. The Director, Department of Juvenile Justice, (the “Department”) shall develop a transformation plan to provide more effective and efficient services for juveniles, using data-based decision-making, that improves outcomes and safely reduces the number of juveniles housed in state-operated juvenile correctional centers, consistent with public safety. To accomplish these objectives, the Department will provide, when appropriate, alternative placements and services for juveniles committed to the Department that offer treatment, supervision and programs that meet the levels of risk and need, as identified by the Department's risk and needs assessment instruments, for each juvenile placed in such placements or programs. Prior to implementation, the plan shall be approved by the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security.

2. The Department shall reallocate any savings from the reduced cost of operating state juvenile correctional centers to support the goals of the transformation plan including, but not limited to: (a) increasing the number of male and female local placement options, and post-dispositional treatment programs and services; (b) ensuring that appropriate placements and treatment programs are available across all regions of the Commonwealth; and (c) providing appropriate levels of educational, career readiness, rehabilitative, and mental health services for these juveniles in state, regional, or local programs and facilities, including but not limited to, community placement programs, independent living programs, and group homes. The goals of such transformation services shall be to reduce the risks for reoffending for juveniles supervised or committed to the Department and to improve and promote the skills and resiliencies necessary for the juveniles to lead successful lives in their communities.

3. No later than November 1 of each year, the Department of Juvenile Justice shall provide a report to the Governor, the Chairs of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance and Appropriations Committees, the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security and the Director, Department of Planning and Budget, assessing the impact and results of the transformation plan and its related actions. The report shall include, but is not limited to, assessing juvenile offender recidivism rates, fiscal and operational impact on detention homes; changes (if any) in commitment orders by the courts; and use of the savings redirected as a result of transformation, including the amount expended for contracted programs and treatment services, including the number of juveniles receiving each specific service. The report should also include the average length of stay for juveniles in each placement option.

4. The Director, Department of Planning and Budget, is authorized to transfer appropriations between items and programs within the Department of Juvenile Justice to reallocate any savings achieved through transformation to accomplish the goals of transformation.

5. If the Department of Juvenile Justice deems it necessary, due to facility population decline, efficient use of resources, and the need to further reduce recidivism, to close a state juvenile correctional center, the Department shall (i) work cooperatively with the affected localities to minimize the effect of the closure on those communities and their residents, and (ii) implement a general closure plan, preferably not less than 12 months from announcement of the closure, to create opportunities to place affected state employees in existing departmental vacancies, assist affected employees with placement in other state agencies, create training opportunities for affected employees to increase their qualifications for additional positions, and safely reduce the population of the facility facing closure, consistent with public safety.

C.1. Included in the appropriation for this Item is $1,500,000 the first year from the general fund for security camera upgrades, external lighting, walk-through detection system, perimeter fencing upgrades, and a man-down communication system to enhance security at the Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center.

2. In procuring any new security systems or components for the existing facility at Bon Air from such funds available in this Item, the Department shall consider ways to reuse the system procured in a future facility. To that end, the Department shall work with the Department of General Services to plan for reuse of a previously acquired security system in any future new facility constructed, to the extent feasible.

D. The Department shall provide to the Chairs of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee, no later than December 1, 2023, a report on the impact of the revisions to the Guidelines for Determining the Length of Stay (LOS) for Juveniles Indeterminately Committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice ("LOS Guidelines") adopted by the Board of Juvenile Justice on November 9, 2022. The report shall include: (i) the research and evidence base used to determine the Guidelines, to include (a) best practices on secure custody treatment "dosage" for programs the Department currently offers and (b) the data, including recidivism data, used to revise the offense-based tiers; (ii) historical data that shows juveniles' length of stay compared to the length of their assigned treatment program, including data breakouts for (a) each year over the past decade, (b) youth who did and did not complete their treatment plans, (c) youth organized by offense level, (d) youth organized by initial risk level, and (e) youth organized by treatment need; (iii) recent revisions in programming and treatment length at the Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center, including a detailed comparison to programming and treatment length before fiscal year 2023; (iv) a six-year forecast of the juvenile direct care population that includes the same assumptions as the 2023 official forecast, except that length-of-stay data is projected based on the LOS Guidelines adopted in 2015, to show the impact of the Guidelines on the six-year population forecast; (v) an analysis of the impact of the current LOS Guidelines on (a) staffing ratios, to include best practices, current ratios, and the staffing levels necessitated by the 2023 official forecast for the juvenile direct care population, (b) bedscape needs and related needs for treatment, rehabilitation, and reentry services; (vi) current bed capacity at the Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center, including maximum capacity based on physical bedspace and maximum capacity based on staffing levels; (vii) consideration of options for meeting the Department's anticipated capital and operating needs (including construction, renovation, contracts, and leases), addressing estimated capacity levels, costs, timeline, and staffing needs for each option; (viii) an assessment of the feasibility of evaluating treatment needs prior to determining the projected length of stay and incorporating projected treatment plan length into such determinations; and (ix) an assessment of the options available for youth to complete or continue programming started in direct care once they return to the community.