Department of Juvenile Justice leadership has spent the past several weeks discussing implementing a range of legislation passed during the recent General Assembly session. The new laws touch on everything from an individual’s length-of-stay to studying how confinement affects minors.
The legislative changes follow a December 2025 audit of Virginia’s only state-run youth prison, Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center, conducted by the Commonwealth’s inspector general. It identified 61 corrective actions needing to be addressed.
Since the report was released, Gov. Abigail Spanberger appointed Bob Bermingham director of DJJ. In May, he said 31 of the corrective actions detailed in the Bon Air audit had been completed. The others are expected to be taken care of by the end of the year.
He also pointed out that at Bon Air, minors are in the “same therapeutic environment” as 21-year-olds — a situation that can affect programming and outcomes.
“I would argue and I'll present to you today that this is nothing more than an adult correctional center at this point,” he said during a May meeting of the Commission on Youth. “Over 60% of our population at Bon Air are over the age of 18.”
Bermingham expounded on restorative justice and the effectiveness of diversion opportunities, which enable minors to avoid spending time engaged with court service units or at the Bon Air facility.
“We need to improve that,” he said about the diversions. “We want to be able to do that outside of the facility, maybe in a pilot program.”
During last week’s DJJ board meeting, Bermingham and the panel addressed a new state directive to better understand the amount of time in-custody minors spend in and out of their cells or rooms. To arrive at new standards, DJJ is set to study the psychological, social, developmental and behavioral benefits of limiting confinement. The effects might extend to facility safety, as well as re-entry.
The panel also touched on length-of-stay guidelines for minors with “indeterminate commitments.” Sen. Barbara Favola sponsored a bill passed by the General Assembly and signed by the governor that creates a process for the department and the court system to adjust the duration of custody, which could include adding time to complete therapy or training programs.
Bermingham said that during his first week on the job, 35 to 40 minors at the Bon Air facility were beyond the high end of their stays. He previously said the population at the Chesterfield County facility decreased from 199 people to 162.