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The purpose of the Juvenile Detention Center
is to provide a pre-dispositional holding facility for juveniles
who are before the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District
Court. Some juveniles will be held while awaiting transportation
to the State Department of Juvenile Justice or other Placements.
Planning for the Juvenile Detention Center
began in the late 1960s. Provision for juvenile detention space
was part of a 1971 bond referendum for a new criminal justice
center which was to include a new jail, court space and other
services. That referendum, however, was not approved by county
voters. In 1980, the Board of Supervisors approved the construction
of a County Juvenile Detention Center using the County General
Fund and Department of Corrections funds. Ground was then broken
in February 1981 for a 55-bed center. The first juveniles
entered the program on October 15, 1982.
The Juvenile Detention Center is a medium
secure pre-dispositional holding facility on a single level
surrounding an outdoor recreational/activity area. It was designed
initially with five living units - with eleven bedrooms and
a dayroom in each. Other specialized space includes an intake/receiving
area, administrative offices, a kitchen and dining room, classrooms
and a gymnasium.
Initially, only three of the living units
were used for secure pre-dispositional holding for a capacity
of 33 juveniles. The court continued to make use of up to 25
beds at the Northern Virginia Regional Detention Home. The remaining
two living units were modified to temporarily house the court's
Less Secure Shelter and can accommodate up to 15 juveniles in
the space.
The Less Secure Shelter moved into a new
facility in 1990, at which time the Juvenile Detention Center
was converted into 55 beds. In 1998, the Juvenile Detention
Center expanded into a 121-bed facility.
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