The number of admissions to juvenile correctional centers in Virginia declined 27 percent from 2007 to 2010, continuing a decade-long trend, according to the state’s Department of Juvenile Justice.
Admissions dropped from 833 in 2007 to 608 in 2010.
Juvenile offender commitments in the state, including appealed cases, have decreased 61 percent since 1998. The state’s average daily juvenile offender population peaked in October 1999 at 1,462 but was down to 859 in 2010.
The decline doesn’t necessarily mean there are fewer kids committing crimes, however. In July 2000, the state changed its eligibility criteria for commitment to the Juvenile Justice system, doubling to four the number of misdemeanors a juvenile must commit prior to incarceration. Felonies still accounted for 86 percent of admissions in 2010.
Further, while the number of juveniles entering the prison system is declining, those who are committed are serving longer sentences. A state committee estimates that these longer stays will contribute to an increase in the population starting in 2014. The state pays more than $100,000 a year to incarcerate a child in the state’s juvenile prisons, according to the Legal Aid Justice Center, which provides legal representation for low-income individuals in Virginia.
Locating housing for offenders once they leave the system is an issue, said Amy Atkinson, executive director of the Virginia Commission on Youth, which is preparing a set of recommendations to the General Assembly on juvenile offender re-entry.
Juvenile Justice operates two halfway houses with a population of about 10 each, but there needs to be more options for independent living, Atkinson said. With the state strapped for cash, however, lawmakers may be hesitant to back many new spending initiatives.
“I think the Commission on Youth is pretty creative in recommending solutions that don’t cost a lot of money,” she said.
Recidivism is still an issue among juveniles. More than 40 percent of juveniles released from correction centers in 2007 — the most recent year for which data are available — were convicted of new crimes within 12 months.
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