ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, May 21, 1996 TAG: 9605210097
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: ROBERT LITTLE STAFF WRITER
With broad changes to the state's juvenile justice laws on the books, state officials are focusing on two child-related topics for next year's legislative session: youth homelessness and gang violence.
The state Commission on Youth will spend the summer and fall writing proposals for the General Assembly to consider in January 1997.
"To the extent that legislation can do anything to help these problems, we really want to do something this year," said Del. Jerrauld Jones, D-Norfolk, chairman of the commission. "These are growing and very tragic concerns that need to be examined right away."
Jones' commission, along with another group headed by Attorney General Jim Gilmore, spent last year studying Virginia's system of punishing young criminals. The result was a sweeping package enacted by the legislature this spring. Beginning July1, most minors who commit felonies will automatically be tried in adult court and receive adult sentences.
In studying homelessness and gang violence, commission members say they are taking on topics that are narrower in scope but still very complex.
The study of gang violence will focus first on Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia, the two regions where it is most prevalent.
Youth homelessness will be viewed statewide, but particularly through the example of a Roanoke program designed to help homeless youth succeed in the city school system. An estimate of the number of homeless youth in Virginia was not available, but one state report suggested minors account for 11 percent of the homeless population.
The problems of homeless youth and their families often include inadequate shelter, unemployment, poor nutrition, inadequate health care, psychological problems, lack of adequate clothing, and interrupted educational services. Homeless students face many barriers to public education, including residency requirements, transiency, transportation, school records, guardianship, service gaps among community agencies, and a lack of immunization records.
It is too soon to guess where solutions might be found, commission members said during a meeting Monday. But several said they expect the commission's focus to shift away from the court system and more toward the health and structure of families.
"Clearly you cannot talk about the plight of homeless children in Virginia without talking about their parents," said Nancy Ross, executive director of the Commission on Youth.
"The interconnections between domestic violence and homelessness and poverty are inescapable."
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