Rigorous Evaluation of the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice's Second Chance Act Reentry Reform, 2012-2024 (ICPSR 39327)

Version Date: Jul 20, 2026

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Principal Investigator(s):
Kelly Murphy, Child Trends

https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR39327.v1

Version V1

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Summary

Child Trends was funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to conduct an implementation and impact evaluation of the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice's (DJJ) Second Chance Act reentry reform efforts. Through a rigorous evaluation of DJJ's reentry efforts and the translation of study findings into recommendations for improving juvenile reentry efforts, this project aimed to enhance public safety and improve outcomes for young people reentering their communities. To achieve these goals, they completed three core objectives: 1) leverage DJJ's robust statewide administrative data system to conduct a quasi-experimental study to examine how the core components of DJJ's reentry reforms impact youth outcomes; 2) conduct an in-depth implementation evaluation to provide other states who are implementing federally funded reentry reforms with context for the study findings, as well as to identify challenges and solutions for implementing and sustaining the reforms; and 3) translate research findings for practitioners, policymakers, and researchers aiming to improve juvenile reentry.

The grant was transferred to the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) in October 2018.

Citation

Murphy, Kelly. Rigorous Evaluation of the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice’s Second Chance Act Reentry Reform, 2012-2024. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2026-07-20. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR39327.v1

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Funding

United States Department of Justice. Office of Justice Programs. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (2018-CZ-BX-0026)

Subject Terms

Geographic Coverage

Smallest Geographic Unit

Department of Juvenile Justice administrative regions within Virginia: Northwest, Central, etc.

Restrictions

Access to these data is restricted. Users interested in obtaining these data must complete a Restricted Data Use Agreement. Data are provided via ICPSR's Virtual Data Enclave (VDE). Apply for access to these data through the ICPSR VDE portal. Information and instructions are available within the data portal. For further assistance please reference the VDE Guide to learn about the application process, about using the VDE, and how to request disclosure review of VDE output.

Distributor(s)

Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research
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Time Period(s)

2011-10-01 -- 2024-08-01

Date of Collection

2018-10-01 -- 2024-09-30
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Study Purpose

To evaluate reforms developed by the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice aimed at reducing recidivism and supporting reintegration after being awarded a Second Chance Act grant from the federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in 2014.

Sample

For the quantitative data, Department of Juvenile Justice administrative data of youth released from direct care facilities during years prior to reentry reforms, financial years 2012 - 2015, and youth released after the implementation of reentry reforms, financial years 2017 - 2020. For the qualitative data, in-person focus group interviews with reentry advocates, residential facility staff, parole officers, and Department of Juvenile Justice staff.

Time Method

Time Series

Universe

All Virginia juveniles released from juvenile justice direct care between fiscal years 2012 and 2015, and fiscal years 2017 and 2020

Unit(s) of Observation

Juveniles released from direct care facilities

Data Source

Administrative data from the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice

Data Type(s)

Mode of Data Collection

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Original Release Date

2026-07-20

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Notes

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