THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, May 21, 1996 TAG: 9605210339
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ROBERT LITTLE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Short : 48 lines
With broad changes to the state's juvenile justice laws now firmly on the books, state officials are focusing on two new child-related topics for next year's legislative session: youth home-lessness and gang violence.
The state Commission on Youth will spend the summer and fall trying to write proposals for the General Assembly to consider in January.
``To the extent that legislation can do anything to help these problems, we really want to do something this year,'' said Norfolk Del. Jerrauld C. Jones, 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 James S. Gilmore, spent last year studying Virginia's system of punishing young criminals, resulting in a sweeping package enacted by the legislature this spring. Beginning July 1, most minors who commit felonies will automatically be tried in adult courts and receive adult sentences.
In studying homelessness and gang violence, commission members say they are taking on topics that are more narrow in scope but no less expansive in complexity.
The study of gang violence in Virginia 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 youths succeed in the city school system. An estimate of the number of homeless youths in Virginia was not available, but one state report suggested minors account for 11 percent of the homeless population.
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 Virginia 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 inter-connections between domestic violence and homelessness and poverty are inescapable.''
KEYWORDS: JUVENILE CRIME GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1997 by CNB