On June 15, 2025, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver aired a “deep dive” into America’s Juvenile Justice System. This was a much-needed look into an area of social justice that many people overlook. In Virginia, dLCV has been monitoring conditions at Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center for several years and advocating for incarcerated youth with disabilities to have access to necessary services and to be free from Abuse and Neglect. After participating in this work, one of our Graduate Interns wrote the following blog post. We hope the Last Week Tonight segment leads to significant reform of the Juvenile Justice system nationwide, and that Virginia Lawmakers pay particular attention to the needs of disabled children and prioritize diversion over incarceration.
By Kelsey Fastabend (she/her), VCU Social Work Intern
If you’ve been paying attention to the local news, you may have noticed a recent uptick in riots and fire setting at Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center, which I refer to as “Bon Air” throughout this post. Bon Air is the Commonwealth of Virginia’s only secure juvenile correctional facility and has a capacity of around 270 youth ranging in age from 14-20, with some exceptions. While incarcerated, residents participate in school, trade programs, and specialized trauma-informed treatment. At least they’re supposed to. This is not the case for an overwhelming majority of the residents at Bon Air.
As a social work intern in the Institutions and Incident Review unit at disAbility Law Center of Virginia (dLCV), I’ve had the opportunity to go to Bon Air for a couple of monitoring visits with dLCV Advocates. These visits have been eye-opening experiences that really highlight the deep flaws within the juvenile “justice” system, particularly the damaging effects that incarceration has on adolescent development. I have quotes around “justice” because the “justice” system is anchored in racism and classism, and is not ultimately designed to provide justice. To better align with this sentiment, I prefer to use “criminal legal system” when referring to the criminal and correctional landscape.
The first thing you’ll notice upon entering Bon Air is the oppressive atmosphere that permeates the space. The infrastructure feels cold, dark, and overwhelmingly bleak. The walls have posters bearing messages that appear intended to inspire but instead come across as demeaning and patronizing. Slogans like “Your choices define you” and “Don’t let your attitude become your downfall” fail to inspire. As you move from one unit to another, it becomes strikingly clear that Bon Air was designed to replicate an adult correctional facility. This stifling environment fosters neither hope nor healing.
During each of my visits, I’ve heard horror stories about the treatment of residents. One meeting with an 18-year-old resident was particularly heartbreaking. The resident disclosed that he hadn’t showered in weeks, hadn’t been receiving meals that met his dietary needs, and was facing threats and bullying from staff. But what concerned him most was the barrier preventing his release: he was unable to complete a required group therapy program as a condition of his release simply because no one else on his unit needed it. Until another participant is identified, his release is indefinitely delayed, keeping him away from his family that includes his young daughter. It was devastating to hear him talk about how much he wanted to just be home with his daughter and to be an active dad. In an effort to retain some form of disturbing control over youth, Bon Air continues to be a punitive environment that traps youth in cycles of violence and abuse.
Other residents have been taunted and verbally abused by staff. They’ve been denied access to clean clothes. Necessary prescription medication has been withheld. Their permitted hour of recreational time is regularly canceled. Oh, and when residents get back in from playing basketball and are sweaty? They’re often denied showers. These are just a tiny fraction of the stories coming out of Bon Air. Taking these stories into consideration, it’s hardly surprising that residents resort to extreme acts of protest like setting fires. I’ve heard countless stories of residents whose mental health has significantly declined since being incarcerated. Many face heightened levels of stress and anger, feeling desperate for change and convinced that no one is truly listening.
While some staff may claim to “be in it for the right reasons,” they remain complicit in a system that fails to support youth in building resilience and empowerment as they grow into adolescence and, ultimately, adulthood. The system slaps a label of “criminal” and “delinquent” on these residents, but ignores the deeper systemic injustices that cause them to become incarcerated in the first place. The criminal legal system is deeply rooted in systemic issues like racism. To put this into perspective, Black and Brown individuals experience incarceration at nearly 5 times the rate of White individuals as a result of racial discrimination, such as higher incidences of police profiling. People with disabilities also face high rates of victimization and endure harsher conditions in prison as a result of their disability status.
These youth deserve better. They deserve to be treated with dignity, respect, and care. They deserve to be empowered to become resilient. They deserve compassion. They deserve to heal from lifetimes of trauma and oppression. They deserve to experience joy and love. Young people (or any people for that matter) do not belong in cages. They belong in communities that nurture their potential, not in institutions that suppress it. We have a responsibility to do better.
Kelsey Fastabend (she/her) is a May 2025 graduate of the Master of Social Work program at Virginia Commonwealth University, where she has specialized in administration, program planning, and policy practice. She is passionate about dismantling oppressive systems that harm vulnerable and marginalized populations. Through a lens of radical imagination and compassion, she is committed to playing a role in building resilient communities and strongly believes “we take care of our communities and our communities take care of us.” Outside of social justice advocacy, you can find her cooking up new recipes, hanging out at the river, or spending time with her partner and their three-legged cat.
dLCV Blog Content Statement: dLCV is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that provides information and referral, legal representation, technical assistance, short-term assistance, systemic advocacy, monitoring and training to Virginians with disabilities. Our services are provided free of charge. We are independent from state and local government.
The statements given by staff or volunteers for our blog content are NOT intended to be taken as legal advice. Instead, our blog content aims to focus on the lived experiences of people with disabilities and shine a light on the diverse perspectives within Virginia’s vibrant disability community.