Data and Research Requests

The Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) supports and encourages research on juvenile delinquency and on the effectiveness of programs and services intended to reduce juvenile offending. Before requesting data or proposing research, please review the Data Resource Guide and any other relevant publications that may inform your project. Note: the Code of Virginia and the Virginia Administrative Code do not permit DJJ to share identifiable juvenile record information for external research requests.

Research proposals for human research in any unit or division of DJJ must be approved by the Human Research and Review Committee (HRRC) and the Director. Research proposals involving secondary data analysis with case-specific information must also be submitted through a similar process using the same forms. Research proposals must also be approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the researcher’s institution/organization. Internal and external requestors must abide by the procedures listed here.

Human research must include informing participants in writing of the procedures, risks, and benefits of the research and obtaining consent. For minors, child assent and parental/guardian consent is required. For research involving minors who are wards of the state, consent from the minor’s parent/guardian is still required.

Decision Chart to Determine the Type of Research Request

* If you are requesting aggregate data, complete the DJJ Data Requests form.

** If you are either requesting case-specific data or proposing human subjects research, follow the instructions for submitting proposals to DJJ. Both require completion and submission of the same forms.

See the External Research Proposal Flow Chart for additional information regarding the review processes for each type of request.

Instructions for Submitting Proposals to the DJJ HRRC

Carefully review the Virginia Administrative Code 6VAC35-170 and the Guidance Document Interpreting 6VAC35-170. These documents provide guidelines and directions for proposing and conducting research in any unit of the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice and other board-regulated programs and facilities.
Review the decision chart to determine the type of research request.
Download and complete the Research Proposal Summary Form.
Download and complete the Research Agreement Form.
Download and complete the Confidentiality Agreement Form. A Confidentiality Agreement Form is required for each individual accessing data.
All completed and signed Research Proposals should be submitted via e-mail to research@djj.virginia.gov. Please include all required attachments with the email.

Approval is contingent upon your adherence to the exact procedures described in the final version of your proposal that has been submitted. If you need to make any changes to your research staff or procedures, you must obtain approval from your IRB and DJJ. However, any changes approved by the IRB cannot be implemented until DJJ also approves them. DJJ may also place additional restrictions on the study beyond what the IRB has approved.

An annual progress report and a final report are required for all approved research projects.