Va. Code » Title 16.1. Courts Not of Record » Chapter 11. Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Courts » Article 9. Disposition
Virginia Code

Va. Code Ann. § 16.1-278.7 (2026)

Commitment to Department of Juvenile Justice

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Only a juvenile who is (i) adjudicated delinquent of an act enumerated in subsection B or C of § 16.1-269.1 and is 11 years of age or older or (ii) 14 years of age or older may be committed to the Department. In cases where a waiver of an investigation has been granted pursuant to subdivision A 14 or A 17 of § 16.1-278.8, at the time a court commits a child to the Department the court shall order an investigation pursuant to § 16.1-273 to be completed within 15 days. No juvenile court or circuit court shall order the commitment of any child jointly to the Department and to a local board of social services or transfer the custody of a child jointly to a court service unit of a juvenile court and to a local board of social services. Any person sentenced and committed to an active term of incarceration in the Department of Corrections who is, at the time of such sentencing, in the custody of the Department, upon pronouncement of sentence, shall be immediately transferred to the Department of Corrections.

When making a finding that a juvenile should be committed to the Department for an indeterminate period, the court shall consider the following: (i) the Department's estimated length of stay guidelines established by the State Board as required by § 66-10; (ii) that the interests of the juvenile and the community require that the juvenile be placed under legal restraint; and (iii) that the juvenile is not a proper person to receive treatment or rehabilitation through other available programs or facilities.

1991, c. 534; 2000, cc. 954, 981, 988; 2007, c. 510; 2014, cc. 20, 249; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 115; 2026, c. 877.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3 cases, 2007–2014 · leading case: Perez v. Com., 652 S.E.2d 95 (Va. 2007).
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Perez v. Com., 652 S.E.2d 95 (Va. 2007). · cites it 4× “Code § 16.1-278.7. It is therefore clear from the face of the petitions and order that Perez was a child under age 18 when he was convicted for the felonies of breaking and entering and larceny.”
Marquis D. Edmonds v. Commonwealth of Virginia, No. 1577114 (Va. Ct. App. Mar. 5, 2013). “Code § 16.1-278.7 requires that “[a]ny person sentenced and committed to an active term of incarceration in the Department of Corrections who is, at the time of such sentencing, in the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice, upon pronouncement of sentence, shall be…”
Jerson Javier Jara Travezano v. Commonwealth of Virginia, No. 1654134 (Va. Ct. App. Oct. 7, 2014). “Code §§ 16.1-278.7; 16.1-278.8; 16.1-285; and 16.”
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