Virginia Law

Article 4. State Facilities for Youthful Offenders.

A. The Department shall establish, staff and maintain, at any state correctional facility designated by the Director, programs and housing for the rehabilitation, training and confinement of persons committed to the Department under the provisions of Article 2 (§ 19.2-311 et seq.) of Chapter 18 of Title 19.2. Persons admitted to these facilities shall be determined by the Department to have the potential for rehabilitation through confinement and treatment therein.

B. Elements of the program shall include but not be limited to (i) an initial period of military style drill, (ii) cognitive behavioral restructuring designed to teach responsibility and accountability through anger management, life skills development, substance abuse education, parenting skills development and peer tutoring, (iii) developmental counseling as needed, (iv) academic education, career and technical education, and apprenticeships, and (v) transitional release, reentry services, aftercare and intensive parole supervision.

Code 1950, § 53-128.1; 1966, c. 482; 1974, cc. 44, 45; 1982, c. 636; 1990, c. 701; 2000, cc. 668, 690; 2001, c. 483; 2020, c. 759.

The Department shall establish, staff and maintain, at any state correctional facilities designated by the Director, programs and housing for the rehabilitation, training, and confinement of juveniles sentenced by the circuit courts as adults and committed to the Department pursuant to § 16.1-272. The Department shall establish, staff, and maintain education for such juveniles in accordance with standards established by the Department of Juvenile Justice.

1996, cc. 755, 914; 2012, cc. 803, 835; 2020, c. 759.

The Department shall establish and maintain within each facility programs for counseling and education, including career and technical education; buildings sufficient to ensure the secure confinement of persons admitted to the facility; and programs in at least one such facility for the study, testing and diagnosis of the following persons:

1. Persons committed to the Department for diagnosis and evaluation under the provisions of § 19.2-316 for a determination as to the likelihood of their benefitting from the program of such facility; and

2. Persons confined in the state corrections system under the indeterminate period of commitment authorized by Article 2 (§ 19.2-311 et seq.) of Chapter 18 of Title 19.2, to evaluate their progress periodically and to determine their readiness for release.

Code 1950, § 53-128.2; 1966, c. 482; 1982, c. 636; 1990, c. 701; 2001, c. 483.

The Department shall give careful consideration to the report developed at the diagnostic facilities established under § 53.1-64 in determining whether persons committed to it under the provisions of § 19.2-311 et seq., are to be confined at a youthful offender facility or elsewhere in the state corrections system.

Code 1950, § 53-128.3; 1966, c. 482; 1982, c. 636.

Any person confined by the Department in a facility established by this chapter may be transferred from such facility to other facilities in the state corrections system for the remainder of the period of commitment under § 16.1-272 or Article 2 (§ 19.2-311 et seq.) of Chapter 18 of Title 19.2, upon a written finding by the Department submitted to the sentencing court that the person has exhibited intractable behavior or, in the case of persons committed under § 19.2-311, otherwise becomes ineligible to use such facilities pursuant to § 19.2-311.

"Intractable behavior" means behavior which (i) indicates an inmate's unwillingness or inability to conform his behavior to that necessary to his successful completion of the program or (ii) is so disruptive as to threaten the successful completion of the program by other participants.

Code 1950, § 53-128.4; 1966, c. 482; 1982, c. 636; 1990, c. 701; 1996, cc. 755, 914.

In no case shall a person previously confined in a youthful offender facility, whether for a different or the same offense, be confined again in such a facility, except for the purposes of study, testing and diagnosis.

The provisions of §§ 53.1-191, 53.1-196, and 53.1-198 through 53.1-201 relating to good conduct credits and allowances and extraordinary service and the provisions of § 53.1-187 relating to credit for time served in a correctional facility or juvenile detention facility shall not apply to persons sentenced to an indeterminate sentence under § 19.2-311 for a crime committed on or after July 1, 1983. Acts performed by such persons which would earn credit for them under § 53.1-191, if it were applicable, shall be noted on their record by the authorities of the facility.

Code 1950, § 53-128.5; 1966, c. 482; 1982, c. 636; 1983, c. 606; 1984, c. 313; 1990, c. 701.