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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

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.

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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: kenjessup@cox.net www.kenjessupandassociates.com P o l i t i c a l C o n s u l t a n t s & A ssociates K en J essup

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V irginia C apitol C onnections , W inter 2016

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