Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, September 9, 1994 TAG: 9409090057
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
Franklin M. Slayton of Halifax County, the board's chairman, said in an interview that ``the administration has abandoned all efforts at prevention and deterrence'' to focus on incarceration.
He said the board was especially concerned about a recent order that court services personnel not expedite the release of nonviolent offenders from overcrowded juvenile detention centers. Slayton said the directive came from Patricia West, the new director of the Department of Youth and Family Services.
West said Slayton must have misunderstood the order.
``It sounds like he's saying we're trying to delay the judicial process, and that's not the case at all,'' she said.
She said court services personnel were told that ``when a judge determines a child needs to be locked up pretrial, it's not our position to second-guess the judge. The judge has all the facts and knows the situation.''
West said juveniles who are kept in custody must be tried within 21 days. ``There had been a practice of probation officers, if they felt a child might be OK, going back and recommending to the judge that the child be released before trial,'' she said.
That is the practice she wanted stopped, West said.
``This comes as somewhat of a surprise to me,'' West said of the resignations. She said none of the board members discussed their concerns with her before quitting.
All of the board members were appointed by former Democratic Gov. Douglas Wilder. West was appointed by Allen.
Allen spokesman Ken Stroupe said the resignations probably serve everyone's best interests if the board members don't believe they can work with Allen.
In the resignation letter to the governor, Slayton and five colleagues said the board has had some success with crime prevention programs for youths.
``Now, under your administration, this basic and essential philosophy has shifted dramatically,'' the board members wrote. They said the administration approach ``compromises the Board and Department's goals and our collective conscience.''
The letter was signed by Slayton, David L. Temple Jr., William E. Weddington, Donald E. Brown, Penelope A. Rood and Leonard N. Smith.
by CNB