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County adopts draft worker-suitability policy to meet DCJS grant conditions for victim-witness coordinator
Summary
To comply with Virginia DCJS grant conditions funding a victim-witness coordinator, Warren County staff presented a draft policy requiring written determinations of suitability and criminal-history and offender-registry checks for anyone interacting with participating minors; staff proposed applying the practice countywide while excluding departments that already follow stricter state-guided checks.
County staff presented a draft policy requiring pre-interaction written determinations of worker suitability for individuals who will interact with participating minors, a condition tied to funding from the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS).
"In order to obtain the written determination, the individual must pass a Virginia State Police criminal history background check and an offender registry search, and that is done by Warren County HR," a staff presenter (Speaker 11) told supervisors. The policy was developed with the county attorney’s office and DCJS and was included in the meeting packet.
Staff said the DCJS grant funds the victim-witness coordinator position (salary and most benefits) and that the grant is ongoing; the county is in its fourth year of receiving the award. The draft policy mirrors the grant’s special conditions and staff recommended considering countywide implementation of the added offender-registry search and related suitability determinations. Social Services and Parks & Recreation currently follow more robust processes guided by state rules or third-party checks and were noted as possible exclusions or candidates for consolidation under a countywide approach.
Board members asked whether the change is merely procedural to meet grant requirements. Staff confirmed the policy is a grant condition tied to federal/state funding for the position and that the county was given an extension to implement the policy for prior grant years; the county is now making the policy permanent for 2025 grant compliance.
The board did not take a final vote on the policy at the work session; staff offered to answer additional questions and to proceed with legal review and implementation steps as needed.
