any intro from Director or info about director's office?
The Chief Deputy Director assists the Director with implementation of initiatives, reforms and policies that are designed to improve the lives of court-involved youth and move the agency forward. The Chief Deputy directly supervises the Investigative Unit, Quality Assurance Unit, Interstate Compact Unit, and the Public Information Office. The Chief Deputy may also oversee cross-functional agencywide issues and take on day-to-day tasks to enable the Director to focus on the agency’s vision and carry out strategic organizational initiatives.
The Bureau of Investigative Operations protects and preserves the integrity of the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice by preventing, detecting and exposing criminal activity, gang-related activity, corruption, serious misconduct, sexual misconduct and mismanagement in relation to DJJ operations. The unit handles investigations regarding allegations against staff and advises security staff at Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center of potential gang issues. The unit also serves as a liaison between Bon Air and our Court Service Units, investigating resident-on-resident assaults and disturbances to determine if they are gang-related. When required by law, investigators consult with the Virginia State Police, local law enforcement, Commonwealth’s Attorney’s offices and/or the Office of the State Inspector General for guidance and resources. Investigators also cooperate with local, state and federal agencies that are investigating criminal law violations and allegations of employee misconduct.
The information security officer serves as DJJs internal information security group lead to ensure the protection of all employee and juvenile data and that all DJJ operations are done according to the DJJ Information Security Program documents and in compliance with state and federal guidelines. This area also oversees relevant security policy guidelines, risk assessments, information security sensitive system audits, business impact analyses, yearly IT security awareness training to all DJJ staff and business partners.
Internal auditing is an independent and objective assurance and consulting activity that is guided by a philosophy of adding value to improve DJJ operations. It brings a systematic and disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of DJJ’s governance, risk management, and internal control.
The unit is authorized to have unrestricted access to all of DJJ’s records, physical properties, and personnel pertinent to carrying out our mission, with strict accountability for confidentiality and safeguarding records and information.
Internal audits are performed in accordance with the auditing standards applicable to financial audits contained in the Government Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States and International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing promulgated by the Institute of Internal Auditors.
The Interstate Commission for Juveniles is established to fulfill the objectives of the Compact, through means of joint cooperative action among the Compacting states to promote, develop and facilitate a uniform standard that provides for the welfare and protection of juveniles, victims and the public by governing the Compacting states’ transfer of supervision of juveniles, temporary travel of defined offenders and return of juveniles who have absconded, escaped, fled to avoid prosecution or run away.
As a public agency, DJJ has a responsibility to communicate clearly and transparently with all its stakeholders. The public information officer (PIO) ensures that crucial, up-to-date information is readily available on the agency’s website, its social media channels, and through the issuance of news releases. The PIO handles all media inquiries.
The residential staff safety advocate offers support to residential staff in a variety of ways, starting when they are hired by DJJ and continuing through their tenure. This individual assists those who are assaulted by residents or injured on the job and ensures all necessary steps are followed and staff receive proper care after an incident. The residential staff safety advocate offers a safe and private environment for staff to share their concerns or state their complaints and follows up with an administrator to address the complaint or concern and work toward a solution. They supports safety in the facility by ensuring that procedures and processes involving safety and security are adhered to and offering recommendations when there is an issue. Additionally, this person maintains a strong working relationship with residential staff, facility administrators, and education staff in the facility and acts as a liaison between staff and leadership.
DJJ's gang intervention initiative aims to reduce youth gang involvement in the commonwealth by supporting successful community programs and creating new initiatives that will address the current concerns of the commonwealth.
