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News Page Last Update: 04-15-08

The Department of Juvenile Justice’s (DJJ) Ombudsman Program began in 2002 as part of the Office of the Inspector General. It is staffed by an ombudsman located in Central Office who reports to the Director and the Inspector General, and ward grievance coordinators in each of the Department’s seven juvenile correctional centers. The ombudsman (along with the Department’s Public Relations Officer) is available to provide information to families, professionals, youth, and the general public and answer questions or address concerns about the conditions of confinement in the Department’s juvenile correctional centers.

The purpose of the Ombudsman Program is to help protect the rights of committed youth by monitoring the overall living conditions within the juvenile correctional centers and the level of compliance with agency policies and procedures. The program serves as an “early warning system” so that problems can be addressed before they become systemic.  Any parent, ward or private citizen may contact the Ombudsman Program to express concerns or ask questions. The program has four components that provide a system of advocacy for the wards. The components include the staff of the program, the grievance procedure, and the Youth Advisory Committees.

Ombudsman

Ombudsman comes from a Swedish word which means “agent of the people”. Originally created to investigate citizens’ complaints about harmful or ineffective government programs and laws, an ombudsman acts as a neutral third party to look after the affairs of a particular group. The American Bar Association (ABA) defined “ombudsman” as a government official who hears and investigates complaints by private citizens against government agencies. The concept quickly spread to other areas, and ombudsmen can be found in both the private and public sectors. 

The DJJ’s ombudsman visits all juvenile correctional centers and maintains relationships with the administrative staff, counselors, therapists, medical staff, food service staff, and correctional officers in each juvenile correctional center. The ombudsman talks with wards and attends Youth Advisory Committee meetings at all facilities.

The ombudsman may investigate any problem that is identified during a juvenile correctional center visit or brought to her attention by a parent, ward, family member or private citizen. When studying a problem, the ombudsman looks at juvenile correctional center practice as it relates to DJJ’s policies and procedures. After the study is complete, the ombudsman’s focus is on negotiating solutions and remedies for identified concerns. Information obtained in the study is shared with the juvenile correctional center superintendent and other selected staff and possible solutions are discussed.

The primary focus for the ombudsman is on how a problem impacts the system as a whole. The ombudsman’s concerns include (but are not limited to) the application of administrative segregation, due process hearings, discipline procedures, education, health care, food services, cleanliness and physical condition of facilities, and the Ward Grievance process. The ombudsman is not authorized to make, change, or set aside a policy or administrative decision, or to require that changes be made, but rather expedites and facilitates the resolution of a complaint and recommends individual and systemic changes when appropriate. When a systemic change is needed, the ombudsman presents a summary of the problem, along with possible remedies, to the key department leaders who can make the needed changes.

The ombudsman helps train new correctional officers and monitors the training given to wards about the Ward Grievance Procedure. The ombudsman is knowledgeable of Board of Juvenile Justice standards, Department Standard Operating Procedures, Department of Social Services Child Protective Services’ policies and operations as they apply to the Department’s Juvenile Correctional Centers, the laws of the Commonwealth as they apply to the rights of incarcerated juveniles and stays current on trends within the juvenile justice system.

The ombudsman’s staff includes ward grievance coordinators at each correctional center. The ombudsman focuses on systemic problems, and ward grievance coordinators address individual ward concerns within each individual correctional center.

Ward Grievance Coordinator

The Ward Grievance Coordinator (WGC) is the youth advocate in each juvenile correctional center. The WGC advocates for safe and humane living conditions and appropriate service delivery for wards. If the WGC has serious concerns about living conditions, treatment of youth, due process violations, human rights violations or inadequate service delivery, the WGC notifies the ombudsman and the superintendent and begins work on the issue. The WGC is an advocate for the youth and for youth rights.

The WGC orients all wards to the Ward Grievance Procedure upon their arrival at the juvenile correctional center. The orientation includes viewing an informative videotape and giving wards information that is specific to the facility (where grievance boxes are located, etc.).

The WGC in each juvenile correctional center collects and logs grievances, investigates the grievances and meets with wards to discuss remedies and solutions. The WGC reports monthly to the superintendent and the ombudsman on the number of grievances filed, what they were about, how many were founded or unfounded, and descriptions of remedies.

Additionally, the WGC leads the monthly Youth Advisory Committee meetings, where wards can discuss issues that were raised in their living units and voice other concerns. The results of the Youth Advisory Meeting are reported to the juvenile correctional center’s administration. At the next Youth Advisory Committee meeting, the WGC reports the administration’s response on each issue. The WGC keeps track of issues and the commitments made by the administration to resolve them.

Parents, wards, family members and the general public can reach the Ombudsman Program by calling 804-786-5914, or toll-free 1-866-721-6924.
The ombudsman may also be reached at Susan.Heck@djj.virginia.gov.

The Ward Grievance Procedure

The Board of Juvenile Justice issues standards for the operation of juvenile correctional centers in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Ward Grievance Procedure is the tool given to incarcerated youth to alert a juvenile correctional center’s administration when there is a misinterpretation or misapplication of a department or institutional policy or procedure. It provides a formal process to deal with wards’ complaints, and the ward grievance coordinator in each juvenile correctional center manages this part of the program.

Wards submit grievances on standardized forms which are placed in locked boxes located in living units and in other easily accessible locations. Only the ward grievance coordinator and the superintendent have grievance box keys. The ward grievance coordinator collects the grievances, logs them into the ward grievance database, classifies the grievances and forwards them to the unit or staff responsible for the indicated issue. The grievance is investigated and written responses are returned to the ward grievance coordinator (or the ward grievance coordinator may conduct the investigation personally). The ward grievance coordinator determines whether the grievance is founded or unfounded; founded grievances are sent to the appropriate departments or staff for remedies. The ward grievance coordinator meets with the ward to discuss the finding on the grievance and any suggested remedies.

Youth Advisory Committee

The Youth Advisory Committee provides a means for youth to have input into the juvenile correctional center issues that impact their lives. These meetings operate under established bylaws.

Youth representatives are selected from each living unit. Before each meeting of the Youth Advisory Committee, youth representatives and living unit managers meet to allow youth to voice concerns and have input into the Youth Advisory Committee meeting agendas. Issues are sent to the Ward Grievance Coordinator for inclusion on the agenda. During Youth Advisory Committee meetings, the representatives from each living unit meet with administrative staff, teachers, food service managers and workers, health care workers, and maintenance representatives to discuss concerns identified during living unit meetings. The Ward Grievance Coordinator leads the meeting and logs the concerns of the living units. These concerns are then presented to the administration of each juvenile correctional center for consideration. The Ward Grievance Coordinator reports on each issue brought before the administration at the next Youth Advisory Committee meeting.

Parents, wards, family members and the general public can reach the Ombudsman Program by calling 804-786-5914, or toll-free 1-866-721-6924. The ombudsman may also be reached at Susan.Heck@djj.virginia.gov.