Jason Houtz

During his time at Longwood College, he served in the United States Marine Corps as a Non-Commissioned Officer and while completing his graduate studies, he worked at the New Dominion School in Dillwyn, VA, a residential program for troubled adolescent males whose treatment areas included conduct disorders, substance abuse, and family dynamics.  He began working for the Fairfax JDRDC in 1995 as a substitute relief counselor at the Juvenile Detention Center and spent his career working in various capacities in the facility, from direct care to supervision and management. He spent 10 years as the Assistant Superintendent and 13 years as the Superintendent, directing the mission, vision and philosophy of the program. Under his leadership the Detention Center focused on best practices for serving youth, families and the community through program development that included treatment services, family engagement, trauma informed care and the adoption of evidence-based practices. During this time, he was a member of the Virginia Juvenile Detention Association and served as the Regulatory Chair, Secretary and President of that organization, where he worked in collaboration with other Detention Programs, the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice, the Department of Education, many of Virginia’s Legislators and many other governmental organizations, stakeholders and partners to promote best practices in youth residential care across the commonwealth. He served on numerous statewide workgroups and committees to solve shared problems in Virginia’s Judicial System and made recommendations to the Virginia Board of Juvenile Justice and the Virginia General Assembly for improved youth programs. He worked to establish improved regulatory requirements that govern the safe operation of juvenile detention facilities across the Commonwealth, worked to study and make recommendations for appropriate detention alternative programs such as shelter care and supervised release programs, and advocated for quality services and programs for all of Virginia’s Youth and families while maintaining focus on community safety.