A new restorative justice program for youth has scored some success but continues to grapple with layered challenges around juvenile offenses in Arlington, leaders say.
“What stands out most is the complexity of needs among the young people we serve,” said Devanshi Patel, CEO of the nonprofit Center for Youth and Family Advocacy (CYFA).
Ensuring access to affordable, high-quality daycare and early-childhood education has landed near the top of the Arlington County Board’s 2025 legislative wish list.
The cost of child care in Northern Virginia is “more expensive than college,” Board member Takis Karantonis said at the body’s Tuesday (Dec. 3) work session with members of the county’s delegation to the General Assembly.
A new program diverting teens from the criminal justice system has seen 27 referrals for a variety of criminal offenses, largely related to theft, assault and drug and alcohol violations.
Shoplifting and physical disagreements with peers are exactly the kinds of crimes Devanshi Patel expects to see go through the program, run by the nonprofit she leads called the Center for Youth and Family Advocacy (CYFA).
Arlington County is looking to tweak how its athletic fields are used and reserved.
Through Sept. 8, residents will have the chance to participate in a survey which county staff plan to use to develop policy that will “ensure more equitable access for recreation.”
A nonprofit with ties to Arlington is offering free outdoor hiking and camping adventures for D.C.-area teens and tweens grieving the loss of a loved one.
Hope for Grieving Families is partnering with the educational nonprofit Outward Bound to send up to 30 tweens and teens on a one-day ropes course adventure and a group of eight to 10 high schoolers on a seven-day expedition in the Appalachian Mountains.
Arlington County is launching an initiative to make sure all kids have a trusted adult they can talk to.
Dubbed the “Askable Adult initiative,” the program will help to provide “access to adults who listen, provide support and understanding, and answer questions without judgment,” according to a press release.
Arlington County has created a new youth program aimed at diverting young people who commit crimes from the criminal justice system.
The program, called “Heart of Safety,” is the first county program established to find alternatives to prosecution in certain misdemeanor and felony cases committed by juveniles and young adults, according to a press release from the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney.
With a flurry of touchdowns, an Arlington girls flag football team won the NFL Flag Football National Championship in Las Vegas this past weekend.
The Virginia Hurricanes, a team made up of sixth grade girls mostly from Arlington, dominated the competition in their age range during the six game tournament. The team routed their opponents during the tournament by a combined score of 96 to 8.
(Updated 4:20 p.m.) Against the backdrop of Alexandria’s City Council voting to reinstate School Resource Officers, Arlington school and police officials say they’re confident kids and staff will be safe without daily police presence.
That’s because, leading up to the decision to remove SROs this summer, the county spent six years investing in other school safety pillars, adding counselors, enhancing building safety and beefing up emergency management operations, according to School Board Chair Barbara Kanninen.
Arlington Public Schools and the Arlington County Police Department are hashing out their new working relationship following the School Board’s decision to remove School Resource Officers from school grounds.
Rather than place officers in school buildings, ACPD has formed an off-site Youth Outreach Unit tasked with developing engagement opportunities for and building relationships with kids. This summer, the Arlington School Board became the second in the region to remove SROs from school grounds out of concern for racial disparities in juvenile arrests.
For the first time, a team of 9-year-old baseball players from the Arlington Babe Ruth League is going to the league’s version of the World Series.
The team, dubbed the Arlington Storm, is headed to Florida’s Treasure Coast today (Wednesday) to compete for the national title. The trip comes after winning the Virginia state championship and the Babe Ruth Southeast Regional Championship last week in Snow Hill, North Carolina.
Arlington County is asking residents how and when they use athletic fields.
The County’s Public Spaces Master Plan, adopted in April 2019, calls for a public survey every five years to garner feedback to determine how and when Arlingtonians use the available athletic fields.
