Juvenile Court Service Unit

Intake: Serves the Juvenile Domestic Relations Court; takes petitions for custody, support, visitation and family protective orders and juvenile delinquency/CHINS petitions. Operates various diversion from Court programs and manages the agency's substance abuse services.

The services below serve youth and families that have appeared before the Juvenile Court:

Probation: The Probation Officer provides community supervision for juveniles under the jurisdiction of the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court through a balanced approach of rehabilitation, accountability and protection of the community. Youth on probation receive community-based supervision services that may include additional services from other agencies or services purchased through private vendors to enhance the adjustment of troubled youth in the community.

Intensive Probation Supervision provides an alternative to incarceration for those juveniles at high risk to re-offend by providing an intensive level of supervision and services sufficient to protect the community and to offer juveniles an opportunity for success and appropriate adjustment to community standards. The main office is located at 9540 Center Street, Suite 200, Manassas, Virginia 20110. Phone: 703-792-6200.

Parole: Parole Officers provide community supervision of youth returning to the community from correctional centers. The Parole unit aims to reduce recidivism for committed offenders by providing and coordinating a level of services and supervision which optimize the opportunity for success upon reintegration into the community. The service is designed to prevent further offenses and to provide an alternative to incarceration for youth on Parole who are at high risk to re-offend. It provides an intensive level of community supervision and services sufficient to protect the community and to offer juveniles an opportunity for success and appropriate adjustment to community standards of behavior.

Court Service Unit Programs:

Adult Services -  Adults found within the purview of the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court include those found guilty of misdemeanor domestic assaults, sex crimes against children and misdemeanor criminal offenses, when a family member or child is the victim.

If found within the purview and placed on supervision, these cases are referred to the Office of Criminal Justice Services for adult supervision and services. For further information contact the Office of Criminal Justice Services.

Court Psychologist - The 31st District Court Service Unit Court Psychologist provides a variety of psychological services for the Juvenile Court, public agencies and the public. These include the administration, scoring and interpretation of psychological and behavioral tests. The Court Psychologist prepares and maintains assessment summaries; conducts and interprets substance abuse screening tests; reports on findings, and makes recommendations for treatment plans. As part of interagency and community collaboration, the Court Psychologist attends the Prince William County Family and Assessment Planning Team as a member representing the Court Service Unit, assisting in the development of service and treatment strategies for youth and families. Staff of the Court Service Unit, and professionals from other agencies and the private sector frequently consult with the Court Psychologist to discuss difficult cases as part of service planning.

The Court Psychologist provides evaluation services at both agency locations, and conducts field visits to facilities where youth are housed pending Court hearings or placement in treatment facilities. The Court Psychologist is frequently called upon to testify in Court, and present the results of interviews and evaluations. E-mail the Court Psychologist or call 703-792-6216 for additional information.

Public and Community Service (PACS) - The PACS program places offenders at job sites to complete community service hours ordered by the Court. In addition, the program coordinator recruits and establishes appropriate job sites and monitors and enforces compliance with the Court's order. Youth that are Court-ordered to perform community service hours are referred directly from the Court to Volunteer Prince William (formally the Voluntary Action Center). The Court is notified when a youth completes or fails to complete the assigned hours. The youth are assigned to a variety of public agencies to perform their hours including local libraries, the County landfill, schools and local parks. Volunteer Prince William provides the Juvenile Court a report, informing the Court on the successful or unsuccessful completion of the assigned hours. Phone 703-369-5292 for information.

Serious or Habitual Offender Comprehensive Action Program (SHOCAP) - SHOCAP is a comprehensive and cooperative information-sharing and case management program. It is designed to enable agencies that serve juveniles to share information about serious or habitual juvenile offenders in order to provide comprehensive, coordinated services for the juveniles, and to protect the community from serious juvenile crime. Participation in SHOCAP by localities is voluntary. The SHOCAP program must be established by an ordinance of a local governing body once that body recognizes its community's need for coordinated, comprehensive service delivery to serious or habitual juvenile offenders, as well as protection from additional serious juvenile criminal activity. The ordinance authorizes creation of a SHOCAP committee.

Prince William County was one of the first jurisdictions in Virginia to establish SHOCAP in response to juvenile crime. The Prince William Board of County Supervisors passed the required local enabling legislation consistent with Virginia Code §16.1-330.1.

Staff from the Court Service Unit and the Prince William Police Department, as well as other agencies permitted by law, share detailed information on all youth identified as SHOCAP. Various public and private services are involved, as needed, to focus on the treatment and supervision of SHOCAP cases to prevent further criminal behavior and to monitor a youth’s behavior in the community. Detailed information on each SHOCAP case is prepared by the CSU probation and parole staff and forwarded to the police department. All police officers in Prince William County have access to SHOCAP records to provide jurisdiction-wide coordination of this program.

SHOCAP/Gang Sweeps performed by the police and CSU staff are conducted regularly to verify that Court ordered conditions of curfew are being complied with satisfactorily. The partnership and collaborative effort between the Prince William County Police and the 31st Court Service Unit (CSU) began in 1997. This collaboration was modeled in part after the Operation Nightlight program created by the Boston, MA, Police Department, which allowed participating agencies to work together to reduce youth and gang violence. Gang/SHOCAP "sweeps" occur on a random basis. For a juvenile to be identified for the "Sweep," a youth must meet at least one of the following criteria:

• Designated as a Serious Habitual Offender (SHOCAP)
• An identified gang member confirmed by the PWC Gang Intelligence Analyst
• The gang member is identified as either a member or associated member
• Having been convicted of a firearms violation

A youth who is determined not to be present during these "Sweeps" will have his or her assigned Probation/Parole Officer notified. The Probation/Parole Officer can apply either non-judicial or judicial sanctions. This provides swift accountability for the violation of probation/parole rules and serves as notice that a juvenile's curfew will be monitored on a random basis. This Partnership, one of the first in Prince William County, shows juvenile offenders and the community that they are to be held accountable for the terms and conditions of their probation/parole as they are set by the Court. It has also enhanced communications and the exchange of information between the two agencies. For additional information, email Harvey Johnson at the Court Service Unit.

Volunteer/Intern Program -The objective of the Volunteer/Intern Program is to enhance Court Service Unit resources and services by the recruitment, training and supervision of volunteers. Volunteers and interns serve in a variety of positions ranging from mentors, Intake and Probation/Parole Officers, to volunteers who assist staff with conducting groups or with office operation functions. Most volunteers are given the same full range of training and job responsibilities as full time employees. Many have used this valuable experience to pursue careers in the criminal justice and human services field. Interns who serve the Court Service Unit receive college credit for their time with the agency as part of their own academic program. For additional information, email Volunteer Coordinator Monica Newman or call 703-792-6226.