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Subcommittee backs raising minimum age for delinquency adjudication to 11; bill reported 5-3
Summary
Senate Bill 7-78 would prohibit adjudicating children under 11 as delinquent and direct cases to services and supervision; the committee reported the bill 5-3 after advocates and juvenile-justice officials testified for and against it.
Richmond — The subcommittee voted to report Senate Bill 7-78, which sets a minimum age of 11 for adjudicating children as delinquent and emphasizes community-based, trauma-informed services for younger children.
Senator Locke, sponsor of SB 7-78, told the panel that Virginia currently has no statutory minimum age for delinquency and that brain-science research supports preventing criminal adjudication of elementary-age children. "This bill protects our youngest and…
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