FY 2021 Emergency Planning for Juvenile Justice Residential Facilities

The Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) Division of Residential Services, specifically Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center (JCC), is seeking assistance to strengthen emergency response capabilities through establishing highly-functional response centers and securing additional transportation capabilities. Residential Services will coordinate with security staff, DJJ procurement, and external contractors to acquire a secure bus and develop both an Operations Response Center and an Incident Command Center. The bus will supplement existing transportation to relocate residents and essential staff if evacuation is necessary as current transportation does not support Bon Air’s emergency response needs. During any emergency, the Response Operations Center will function within the facility’s secure perimeter and serve as an information source for the Incident Command Center, the decision-making hub just outside of the secure perimeter. Although the locations for those centers have been established, the existing equipment is insufficient. Due to Bon Air JCC’s varied vulnerabilities, proper emergency response capabilities are vital. Supplies and equipment alone serve little purpose. Residential Services is participating in an Emergency Planning Technical Assistance Program with a cohort of four other states. The program is led by the Council of Juvenile Justice Administrators (CJJA) and the American Institute of Research (AIR). This was the spark that alerted Bon Air to these deficiencies. Participation in the TA program will lead to the development and implementation of a new Emergency Operations Plan (EOP). Staff will receive training on the new EOP which will include the use of any items procured as a result of this grant.