Virginia

Member Info Member Publications General State Information

NJJN Member

Families & Allies of Virginia's Youth (FAVY) started as a group of concerned advocates and family members of young people in Beaumont Juvenile Correctional Center. We could see that the juvenile justice system was not working for our children. We decided to form a group to push for changes at Beaumont and statewide.

We are especially concerned about Virginia’s youth prisons and the conditions inside them. It costs $102,204 to hold a youth in a juvenile prison for one year. But youth prisons are a failed, outdated approach. About two-thirds of kids released from
these facilities are convicted of a new crime within three years.

Children confined in Virginia’s youth prisons are often far from their families and community, making a successful transition home difficult. Many children in the juvenile justice system have mental health needs that are not adequately met in the youth prisons.

Youth of color are dramatically overrepresented at every level of Virginia’s juvenile justice system. This is especially true of the youth prisons, where 72% of the youth are African American or Latino, even though they are 30% of Virginia’s youth population.

There Is a Better Way!

We speak out and seek fair and effective treatment for all young people in Virginia’s juvenile justice system. Instead of youth prisons, we are pushing for Virginia to use a system of small, local rehabilitation programs based on proven models. This will give our young people the best chance at success and do a better job of maintaining public safety. Other states have done this, and it works!

We support prevention and diversion efforts that keep kids out of the system. This includes adequate community mental health treatment.

NJJN Member

The JustChildren Program, sponsored by Legal Aid, employs a variety of strategies to insure people in Virginia have access to the services and supports necessary to live successful lives in their communities.

JustChildren employs the following strategies in pursuit of its mission:

-Direct Representation for young people under 18 to help children with disabilities, mental health problems, and those involved in the juvenile court access the support and services necessary.

-Community education to provide parents with inforamation to help them acquire the skills and information necessary to effectively help their children.

- Partner with local Departments of Social Services and other foster care agencies to train professionals to become effective educational advocates.

-Statewide advocacy to remedy problems in the system of service delivery for children with disabilities and other needy families through litigation and research.