The Northwestern Regional Juvenile Detention Center is a 32-bed secure detention center serving the City of Winchester and Clarke, Frederick, Page, Shenandoah and Warren Counties. The City of Winchester acts as the Center’s fiscal agent. The facility is divided into four, eight bed pods. Eight beds are designated as post dispositional. The code of VA allows for juveniles to be sentenced up to six months in detention in our Post D program. The remaining beds are designated as general population or residents awaiting a detention hearing, adjudicatory hearing and/or dispositional hearing.
It is the mission of the Northwestern Regional Juvenile Detention Center to provide, a safe and secure setting that offers opportunities for success and personal growth. The NRJDC provides the temporary secure care and custody of children and adolescents who cannot be served in an open setting and are referred to the NRJDC by the appropriate authorities pending juvenile court disposition or placement.
Specifically the NRJDC shall:
- Provide for the juvenile’s basic needs: shelter, food, clothing and medical care.
- Assurance of the juvenile’s legal rights during his/her detainment at the facility.
- Provide for physical, emotional, religious, educational and social needs of juveniles during detainment.
- House the juvenile in a safe, humane environment, maintaining the level of security necessary to prevent escape and assure that juveniles live free of fear of assault or intimidation by staff or other juveniles.
While in detention, residents will be enrolled in the Fort Collier Academy (school within the detention center). Six Frederick County Special Education School Teachers are assigned to this program. GED, music therapy and physical education are also offered. In addition to their normal duties, Detention Specialists act as teacher’s assistants during the day shift and provide additional education support. The education program is emphasized with all of our residents regardless of their present status. Residents not presently in school will hopefully have a positive experience in our program, which may re-interest them in getting back into school. Students currently enrolled in school are able to keep up with their education program so they will not fall behind while placed in detention.
During the evening shift, Detention Specialist will facilitate group and supervise recreational activities. Groups are planned that address the issues juveniles face growing up for example: self-esteem, anger management, values, team building, use of leisure time, etc. The Post Dispositional Program’s Groups are designed to be more intensive and will address the specific behaviors that were catalyst to the individual getting incarcerated. Post-D residents have an individual service plan customized to meet their needs. They also participate in individual counseling, group counseling, substance abuse counseling and family counseling (as needed) with a licensed mental health provider.
Detention Specialists are responsible for the day-to-day supervision of the residents and are paramount to the program’s success.
PREA Audit
The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) requires the JDC, as a juvenile detention facility, to collect accurate, uniform data for every allegation of sexual abuse at our facility using a standardized instrument and set of definitions. The data collected shall include, at a minimum, the data necessary to answer all questions from the most recent version of the Survey of Sexual Violence conducted by the Department of Justice. In September 2022, the three-year PREA Audit report was presented.
The full report can be requested by contacting the JDC. Click here to view the report summary.