Virginia Code 16.1-309.2: Purpose and intent
The General Assembly, to ensure the prevention of juvenile crime and the imposition of appropriate and just sanctions and to make the most efficient use of community diversion and community-based and correctional resources for those juveniles who have been screened for needing community diversion or community-based services using an evidence-based assessment protocol or are before intake on complaints or the court on petitions alleging that the juvenile is a child in need of services, child in need of supervision, or delinquent, has determined that it is in the best interest of the Commonwealth to establish a community-based system of progressive intensive sanctions and services that correspond to the severity of offense and treatment needs. The purpose of this system shall be to deter crime by providing community diversion or community-based services to juveniles who are in need of such services and by providing an immediate, effective punishment that emphasizes accountability of the juvenile offender for his actions as well as reduces the pattern of repeat offending. In furtherance of this purpose, counties, cities or combinations thereof are encouraged to develop, implement, operate, and evaluate programs and services responsive to their specific juvenile offender needs and juvenile crime trends.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 16.1-309.2
- Child in need of services: means (i) a child whose behavior, conduct or condition presents or results in a serious threat to the well-being and physical safety of the child or (ii) a child under the age of 14 whose behavior, conduct or condition presents or results in a serious threat to the well-being and physical safety of another person; however, no child who in good faith is under treatment solely by spiritual means through prayer in accordance with the tenets and practices of a recognized church or religious denomination shall for that reason alone be considered to be a child in need of services, nor shall any child who habitually remains away from or habitually deserts or abandons his family as a result of what the court or the local child protective services unit determines to be incidents of physical, emotional or sexual abuse in the home be considered a child in need of services for that reason alone. See Virginia Code 16.1-228
- Child in need of supervision: means :
1. See Virginia Code 16.1-228
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
- Process: includes subpoenas, the summons and complaint in a civil action, and process in statutory actions. See Virginia Code 1-237
- State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
This article shall be interpreted and construed to accomplish the following purposes:
1. Promote an adequate level of services to be available to every juvenile and domestic relations district court.
2. Ensure local autonomy and flexibility in addressing juvenile crime.
3. Encourage a public and private partnership in the design and delivery of services for juveniles who come before intake on a complaint or the court on a petition alleging a child is in need of services, in need of supervision, or delinquent or have been screened for needing community diversion or community-based services using an evidence-based assessment protocol.
4. Emphasize parental responsibility and provide community-based services for juveniles and their families which hold them accountable for their behavior.
5. Establish a locally driven statewide planning process for the allocation of state resources.
6. Promote the development of an adequate service capacity for juveniles before intake on a complaint or the court on petitions alleging status or delinquent offenses.