City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: FEBRUARY 6, 2024
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
THROUGH: JAMES F. PARAJON, CITY MANAGER /s/
FROM: YON LAMBERT, DEPUTY CITY MANAGER
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Consideration of the Release of Funds from FY 2024 Contingent Reserves for Operation of the Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center.
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ISSUE: Should City Council release funding from FY 2024 Contingent Reserves for the Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center (NVJDC)?
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council allocate $657,629 to the NVJDC per the responses below that demonstrate progress towards:
1. Optimizing capacity within Northern Virginia for Juvenile Secure Detention services
2. Leveraging available physical plant capacity for alternative uses; and
3. Pursuing new regional partnerships for use of facilities and staffing.
BACKGROUND: In its FY 2024 budget deliberations, the City Council placed a portion ($657,629) of the City's appropriation for the NVJDC into Contingent Reserves pending progress updates from staff to three Council questions. The purpose of this memo is to respond to Council and provide an update on Center operations.
NVJDC, which opened in 1956 at 200 South Whiting Street in Alexandria, is one of 24 juvenile detention centers in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is a secure facility that serves juvenile offenders (ages 11 to 18), placed primarily by the Juvenile & Domestic Relations Courts of Alexandria, Arlington County and the City of Falls Church, who have committed a wide range of offenses from parole and probation violations to misdemeanor and felony offenses. NVJDC is designed to accommodate 70 youth but, due to decreased utilization prior to 2020, has been staffed since 2017 at a level to handle no more than 46 juveniles at any one time. The NVJDC site also includes Sheltercare, which was established in 1988...
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