Our plan will lead us to our vision: Be the agency of choice for services that empower children, adults, and families to reach their full potential by developing innovative community resources and partnerships.

In order to achieve our vision while fulfilling our mission, Touching Lives. Creating Futures., we will focus on three broad strategic directions.

I.  We strengthen our commitment to children and families by providing innovative, results-focused services that meet changing community needs.

II.  We improve our impact on the communities we serve through increased active constituent visibility, engagement, and investment.

III. We develop and grow as an organization through expanding our business model to be proactive, flexible, and adaptable.

Join us as we move into a future full of change, challenge and opportunity to creatively impact the lives of children and families experiencing complex difficulties while improving the communities they live in.

This year in the Virginia General Assembly a bill was introduced that would place all youth 13 to 17 convicted of certain sex offense felonies on a public sex offender registry with adult offenders where they would remain for the rest of their life. Currently it is left up to juvenile judges as to whether a juvenile offender is a threat to the community and should be placed on the adult public registry. We serve some of these youth. As a former juvenile probation officer I am concerned about public safety and I believe there are circumstances where a juvenile sex offender should be on a public registry. But this is the exception and I believe categorically treating juveniles like adults is not only ill advised, but it will not protect us or our children. I fear that an environment would be created that, instead of rehabilitating these youth, by branding them with mandatory public registration we would equate them with adult offenders and may see serious unintended consequences. These youth will have difficulty attending school, securing employment or military service, and residing in the community with their birth, adoptive or foster family.

When I was at the General Assembly advocating against passage of this bill a senator, who I deeply respect, told me that it would be hard for legislators to hear my concerns for these youth because Jerry Sandusky and Penn State was on their minds as well as their constituents.  It is on my mind too which is why we must bring all of our resources to bear to break the sex offense cycle of juvenile offenders so they don’t become the next Jerry Sandusky and one of our Virginia institutions does not become the next Penn State.

Fortunately enough concerns were raised by advocates that the Senate and House could not agree on this bill and it did not pass. I believe this issue is still alive and will return in another form. I believe we need to stand up for kids even when the issue is unpopular and controversial so that we can have a rich dialogue to better serve these youth while advocating both for their future and public safety.

Check out the latest message from CEO Greg Peters.