Committee continues juvenile crime‑control plan to allow fuller review of diversion services and caseloads

Shannon Paul, deputy director in the Department of Justice Services, presented the city’s VJCCCA plan for fiscal year 2026 and described the program array intended to reduce juvenile recidivism through community‑based diversion, restorative justice and life‑skills programming.

Paul said the plan totals $695,366; $347,683 is city general funds and a matching amount may be received from the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice. Program manager Olivier Fay provided the plan’s estimated service counts for individual programs: community service (80 youth), pre‑diversion (85), community monitoring (50), decision point (15), Virginia Rules (20), Arise (30), restorative justice (10), specialized services (10), larceny (10), violence reduction (20), Broken Men (10) and girls circle (15). Staff said the plan follows state submission formats and that the counts are estimates required by the department of juvenile justice.

Committee members pressed for an unduplicated count of youth served across programs and for clearer information on cross‑system youth (for example, youth involved in both DJJ and child welfare/foster care), because that population can open additional funding and service pathways. The committee noted that diversion is a key component of violence‑prevention strategy and asked whether the city is maximizing state matching and referral opportunities.

After discussion, the committee voted to continue Resolution 2025‑R041 to the Education & Human Services Standing Committee meeting on Nov. 13, 2025, to allow staff time to provide additional data and for a fuller committee briefing on diversion and related city efforts.