Problems linger at sex-offender rehab center
A new report finds that problems at the Virginia Center for Behavioral Rehabilitation didn't improve much in 2008, despite the center's having moved to its new $62 million facility in Nottoway County.
The program is the maximum-security home for 130 of the most dangerous sex offenders in Virginia. They are being held indefinitely -- at $131,000 apiece each year -- under civil-court orders for treatment after their prison sentences ended.
Since the program's beginning in a makeshift facility in Dinwiddie County in late 2003, state auditors have found fault with high staff turnover and the need for more treatment. Many of the center's residents even view the new facility as worse in ways than the prisons they came from.
"Clearly, there are still growing pains and challenges at VCBR," Meghan McGuire, spokeswoman for the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services, said of the March 23 report by the office of the inspector general.
McGuire said building a long-range recovery program will take time. "We are seeing improvement to morale," she said. McGuire also said an advisory committee was formed last year and is working on recommendations to help the center meet its mission.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that sex offenders with certain mental conditions can be committed civilly by courts and held beyond their prison terms for rehabilitation and treatment -- but not for further punishment.
The new report found that residents received an average of 6.6 hours a week of treatment.
Though an improvement on the 2.5 hours a week from the year before, the report said "active treatment levels . . . still remain much lower than desirable for an effective treatment program. Resident boredom and inactivity continue, with significant [adverse] behavioral results."
The staff turnover rate at the center, which has great impact on treatment and other issues, was 47.5 percent in the year that ended last June. The rate has hovered around 50 percent since the program began. For medical and nursing staff, the turnover rate was nearly 100 percent from 2007.
Staffing at such facilities across the country tends to be a problem because of the type of offenders held and because many are located in rural locations.
Concerns on the part of residents "include overly Spartan cells and furniture; a harsh environment; very limited resident privilege levels with regard to phone use, mail, television access and personal items; and limited educational, vocational and recreation opportunities."
Concerns on the part of staff include their personal safety around the offenders and the belief that management sides with the residents too often in disputes.
"Disruptive, noisy, angry residents raise tension levels among staff. Staff report that they hear from residents that residents know they cannot be touched and they taunt staff that they will be reported if the staff infringes on their 'freedom' to behave as they wish," the report said.
Among other things, the department has hired a vocational coordinator, but there are still no jobs for residents for a number of reasons.
The report noted a Catch-22 in the center's efforts to get jobs for residents. Prisons can provide jobs for inmates at 20 to 40 cents an hour under an exception to federal labor law. It appears, however, that people in a civil-commitment center must be paid at least minimum wage.
The department noted that since the inspector general's most recent visit in November, 20 residents have enrolled in college-level correspondence courses.
In an effort to improve the living conditions, some wooden beds from the former facility, located near Petersburg, have been moved to Nottoway, and the existing "slab beds" are being widened and getting more comfortable mattresses.
Contact Frank Green at (804) 649-6340 or
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Reader Reactions
—(Ihatestatefraud)
Thank you for your kind note. As far as I know, I am well situated. But I would think we have some kind of partnership to form. Feel most free to contact me at
Kudos! (Bones) Your viewpoint, knowledge base and expertise would serve the population of VCBR well. Interested in the facility administrator’s job there?
You know where he is at all times? You know everything about her? No disrespect, but what you suggest is impossible.
To answer your question, I was a full-time treatment provider for sexually aggressive youths for ten years (in a program with a 90+% success rate); and now I am a full-time child/victim advocate, and I also provide frequent training on making our communities safer for children.
My only point is that the hatred and single bullet theories you espouse are part of the problem. Leading with emotions might give you temporary relief, but does nothing to help kids.
In other words, spewing hatred is about your ego, not about any genuine intention to serve children. If you don’t act locally to prevent abuse, then you’ll just continue to call unsuccessfully for the exterminatino of the new crop of offenders coming up, more than half of whom have been sexually abused themselves. Tell me one productive measureable outcome your acting out results in to reduce abuse—one thing.
In the end, collective wisdom and preventive action will prevail, and are increasingly prevailing among thousands, despite the toxicity you and others set in the way. And yes, everyone has something to do with abuse - you, me, everyone—simply because we are all connected and we all have something to do.
One in four girls, and one in six boys are sexually abused before turning 18 in the US. Your hang ‘em high attitude has been mainstream for a very long time. I’m thinking your approach just ain’t gettin’ ‘er done.
oh, and to answer your question of what am i doing to change this situation other than ranting and raving~~i keep my son safe by knowing where he is at all times, who his friends are and being aware of surroundings. i do the same for my baby sister. i know everything about her, who her friends are, boys she likes, school peers, etc. thats just part of caring about the publics safety…what are you doing?
BONES~~attitudes like mine perpetuate their behavior? what a joke. attitudes like mine show just how much i care about the general public’s safety. if i were in charge, they wouldnt make it to some facility to be taken care of, they would make it to the nearest shooting range or oak tree and let their punishment be done with. why should my hard earned money be used for their “rehabilitation” when most are going to go and re-offend when they get out? let one of my loved ones be sexually assaulted or violated, that person wont even make it to the sheriffs office, but i would….under arrest for murder 1 and would gladly admit to getting rid of scum like them. dont tell me you wouldnt do the same thing. maybe you wouldnt if you didnt have a conscience, but the majority of us who are supporting these people have the same opinion i do. nice to see you have a soft spot for dirtbags, somebody’s gotta love them…it just wont be ME!
Regrettably, attitudes like munchkins actually perpetuate sexual abuse in our society. The choice to place blame exclusively upon the head of the offender and call for continued violence is yet another sign that munchkin, and so many like-minded others, are not genuinely about public safety.
Members of a civilized society understand that eradicating sexual abuse is everyone’s responsibility, and that because we are all inter-connected, that we all have something to do with it. I have experienced countless citizens at large responding to the reality of abuse by…
1) Pointing the finger
2) Calling for a “hang ‘em high” response to offenders
3) Changing the conversation topic to something less painful, like the weather.
And yet, the problem continues. Children are abused, and a significant percentage grow up to offend themselves.
Members of a civilized society understand that we all have a part to play in growing safety for children and adults in our community. Simply blaming the offender is a way of defining oneself right out of the game. It is disempowering because it assumes that all others are helpless in doing something to prevent abuse. It is itself a victim stance.
A more empowered approach is to coalesce as community members to eliminate opportunities for would-be offenders to abuse: by reducing one-to-one supervision situations for children in settings we are in close proximity to; by insisting on improved screening and background checks in settings where new volunteers wish to work with children; by engaging in the legislative process to improve laws for children and adults; and by improving communication with our children, be they our sons, daughters, nephews, neices, students and clients.
The offender is the last link in the chain before a child is abused. The question is, what are you doing in the hundred or so links before then?
What are you doing, besides ranting and being superior?
MsBP~~not only should they be taken to some God forsaken island. they should be shot excution style and left to die. true burdens to society. the name of the facility itself is a joke. i have behaviorial issues, what they have is a need for sexual power. umm these are two seperate problems. come up with a different name for the place since we ( the taxpayers) are paying for them to be in their new 62 million dollar facility(which i dont agree with at all). i dont want to keep paying for the lowest dirtbags on Earth for them to be sitting pretty with 3 square meals a day, outside time, therapy, warm beds, hot water, etc….let their fate be in the hands of their victims families~~bet they would love to have a little one on one time with them. i would!!
Honestly! This facility is named “Virginia Center for BEHAVIORAL REHABILITATION”! Can we get with the program please. The administrator, deputy director and other self appointed people in pivotal positions there have absolutely NO experience in behavioral rehabilitation! The people they have hired that ARE qualified, the administration runs off. There is a reason the staff turnover rate is so high and it has LITTLE TO DO WITH THE RESIDENTS AND EVERYTHING TO DO WITH THE POOR ADMINISTRATION. Please…this facitily is costing the tax-payers of VIrginia a lot of money for nothing. Believe me fellow Virginians, we WANT a team that is teaching “Trauma Informed Care Training” to this population, and we WANT BEHAVIORAL REHABILITATION so that when these very smart lawyers learn their clients can be released because the facility is fraudulant and not offering these services, and the residents get released, they will at least have the behavioral modification and skill sets they need to succeed and recitivism rates will be greatly reduced. The Central Office of the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services is well aware of the many problems that exist at this facility and were made aware after the first negative report published by the OIG’s office in February 2008. However, little was done to correct the problems and the systems that were initially put in place as corrective actions were later disbanded. Since VCBR’s inception more that 5 years ago, there has been no oversight committee by which to hold the actions, spending and progress of this program accountable. I implore everyone who is reading this to access your representative as well as the Commissioner of Mental Health and DEMAND a thorough investigation. There are many ex-employees that are eager to share their work experiences with any and all who would like to hear, many of whom can provide documentation to support their claims. It is incumbent upon each of us to police the spending of our governmental organizations, and supporting a 15.2 million dollar a year general funded facility like VCBR to house “convicts”, as the current administration refers to them, is not money well spent. Especially since the administrative team just spent some time at the “Great Wolf Lodge” in Williamsburg, Virginia at the tax-payers expense. When was the last time you had a nice vacation? Especially one someone else paid for? Demand answers, Virginians. Ask for a thorough investigation and lets get to the bottom of this once and for all!
Excuse me! Why do they think they should have priviledges. That is what is wrong with the system. These offenders have too many priviledges. They are costing the tax payers a tremendous amount of money and they are “taunting” the staff, etc. Get someone in their with some balls and get them straight…YOU HAVE NO PRIVILEDGES YOU ARE A BURDEN TO SOCIETY AND YOU NEED TO BE SHIPPED TO A DESERTED ISLAND SOMEWHERE!!!!
“... they taunt staff that they will be reported if the staff infringes on their ‘freedom’ to behave as they wish,“...
Isn’t this what got them there in the first place? Behaving as they wish? These are dangerous people and the idea that they served their time, yet can’t be allowed back into the public, is frightening. Rehabilitation is highly unlikely (as shown by statistics of reoffenders)...but when/if they ever get released they may be college educated sexual offenders being able to better manipulate their horrible crimes. Since they are so dangerous they belong back in prison…we sure don’t want them among us.
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