House Bill 1197, monumental legislation that would bring us closer to taking a much-needed public health approach to our youth justice system in Virginia, passed the Senate and is on its way to Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s desk. After the legislature failed to deliver on several other youth justice reform bills this session, Youngkin must sign this bill into law for the future of our children.
The past two years have pushed our youth to the brink. They’ve adjusted to isolated learning, paused after-school programs, witnessed family members get sick, and seen many caregivers lose work. The pandemic was challenging for many — but especially for them.
Recent stories about our youth are weaponizing a narrative to justify reinstating policies to lock children up instead of treating the underlying traumas that lead them into contact with the justice system. These stories focus on “rising crime” amongst youth, while neglecting to mention the simultaneous rises in hunger, poverty, mental health crises, and housing insecurity that are to blame. Studies show that 90% of youth in the juvenile justice system contend with at least two adverse childhood experiences.
These stories also fail to note that “tough on crime” policies have never been proven to reduce crime. Instead, they’ve targeted Black and Brown communities and perpetuated generational cycles of poverty, food insecurity, and economic instability, causing the most harm to Black youth.
We cannot allow these narratives to turn back the clock on youth justice reform. Youth incarceration, exacerbated by systemic inequalities and the pandemic, remains one of Virginia’s most significant public health challenges. It’s time our leaders recognize it.
Hundreds of thousands of youth cycle through the system every year, experiencing higher rates of chronic health problems, substance use, and mental illness than their peers. As of 2020, more than 90% of youth incarcerated in Virginia required mental health services, and more than 70% of youth entering youth prisons demonstrated significant symptoms of a mental health disorder at the time of admission.
By keeping the Department of Juvenile Justice housed under the secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security, we are reinforcing the narrative that children are threats and in need of punitive, not rehabilitative treatment. Their restoration should be anchored within agencies of care, not agencies tasked with punishment and responding to terrorist threats.
A public health approach to youth justice means reducing incarceration and keeping youth closer to home. It means engaging communities to determine evidence-based strategies to prevent youth from entering the justice system at all.
If signed, HB1197 would convene a working group to study how to best transfer the Department of Juvenile Justice to the Secretary of Health and Human Resources, where all other youth-serving agencies in the commonwealth are housed. This would allow us to implement rehabilitation models that allow youth to bounce back from even their worst mistakes and become healthy, contributing members of their communities.
We are not the only ones calling for this transformation, in fact, we know it has worked elsewhere. Twenty-two states house their departments of juvenile justice under their equivalent of the secretaries of health and human resources. Now is the time for Virginia to join them.
To create a more equitable and just system our legislators must have the courage to act. We can’t achieve equity by recycling policies that fail time and time again. We will not achieve equity if we approach public safety with the same apathy we’ve used to tackle hunger, poverty, and housing insecurity.
We have a collective responsibility to foster an environment committed to public safety and justice — and that is exactly the paradigm shift this legislation will allow us to make. We need Youngkin to meet this moment and sign HB1197 into law.
Virginia’s youth deserve no less.
Valerie Slater is the executive director of RISE for Youth in Richmond. James Dold is the founder and CEO of Human Rights for Kids in Washington, D.C.
