JUNE 30, 2025
DJJ is observing positive changes after an unsuccessful 2015 policy. The 2015 Length of Stay (LoS) guidelines reduced how long youth stayed in a secure setting for most commitments to the point that some youth could not complete the treatment they needed for rehabilitation.
The 2015 Length of Stay (LoS) guidelines substantially reduced the stay associated with indeterminate committed youth. In some cases, recommended LoS were reduced by over 50%. As a result, more youth were being released to the community without completing needed rehabilitative treatment. This trend corresponded with a 122-126% increase in the rate of youth who had not completed treatment being rearrested within a year of being released. Additionally, not only did overall rearrest rates fail to improve, the rearrest rate for violent felonies increased by 116%.
These findings led DJJ to consider changes to the LoS guidelines in order to better meet the needs of the youth and the communities where they return home. Ensuring youth complete treatment prior to release is critical to rehabilitating those youth that need it most. Only housing young offenders and not having them complete treatment, thereby not rehabilitating them, is an abdication of the mission and purpose of the Department.
The concern regarding the 2015 guidelines was further noted in the 2021 JLARC1 study multiple times. Failings of the LoS guidelines were specifically noted in recommendation #24, indicating that DJJ "should establish a process to ensure indeterminately committed youths' treatment needs and progress are adequately and fully considered before youth are released. There is no data to support any benefit to the youth or the communities from the implementation of the 2015 guidelines. No beneficial outcome from the shorter lengths of stay has been demonstrated or supported by any facts or evidence.
Alternatively, there is data to support ongoing benefits during longer lengths of stay. The data indicates that dynamic risk factors continue to decrease over longer lengths of stays, while protective scores increase. Data shows over 80% of youth have improved strengths and reduced needs by the time they are released, a dramatic increase from just over half a few years ago. The progress in risk and protective factors reduces the youths' overall likelihood to reoffend in the community. (See also: https://www.djj.virginia.gov/pages/policy/news-releases/2025/Longer-Lengths-of-Stay-Demonstrate-Positive-Youth-Progress.htm.)
After review of data associated with treatment completion and the impact of treatment completion on youth success, the 2023 guidelines were revised in alignment with JLARC’s recommendations. The LoS guidelines were adjusted to meet youth’s treatment goals, giving youth the time needed to complete programming to address issues such as aggression management and substance use. Youth who complete treatment are more likely to reintegrate into the community successfully, reducing the risk of reoffending and lowering overall recidivism/rearrest rates.
After the adjustment, Department data is showing over 90% of youth are now completing treatment in both aggression and substance abuse treatment needs. Completing treatment provides an opportunity for youth to improve behavior while in direct care, which benefits both the youth and staff. Research shows that youth who complete treatment are more likely to reintegrate into the community successfully, reducing the risk of reoffending and lowering overall recidivism rates, and more closely aligning with the rehabilitative goals of the department.
Under the 2023 LoS Guidelines, 95.9% of youth at Bon Air completed their aggression management treatment need and 93.6% completed their substance use treatment need prior to their late release date, indicating no extension in commitment length as a result of treatment delivery. More importantly, the majority completed their treatment prior to their early release date, 63.3% and 66.0% for aggression management and substance use, respectively. This is significant as youth become eligible for early release if their treatment requirements are complete.
In terms of program delivery, preliminary data shows a decrease in treatment completion times in 2024 compared to 2023, demonstrating youth are completing treatment faster, despite ongoing staffing challenges consistent with national trends. On average, youth who were admitted to direct care in 2023 and have completed aggression management and substance use treatment finished in approximately 12 months, and youth who were admitted in 2024 and have completed treatment finished on average in approximately 10 months, demonstrating that programs are being effectively delivered to committed youth in Bon Air. This data supports that commitments are not being extended due to program delivery or potential staffing impacts.
The Department fully believes that prioritizing rapid entrance into treatment is best. The Department does not want to have youth in Bon Air a moment longer than needed. To that end, treatment delivery has been bolstered at all points in the system. Since 2022, DJJ has implemented pre-court services, pre-placement services, and pre-release services. Pre-placement services ensure that treatment begins while the youth is awaiting placement at their final location, like Bon Air, a Community Placement Program (CPP), or a residential treatment location. These actions ensure that there are no delays in treatment delivery.
Additionally, DJJ has introduced the 7 Challenges substance use program which has been shown to improve outcomes for intense substance use needs. By addressing aggression management and substance use, youth are provided the tools to reclaim their futures, which creates safer communities for Virginians.
1 Joint Legislative Audit & Review Commission (JLARC) conducts program evaluation, policy analysis, and oversight of state agencies on behalf of the Virginia General Assembly.
