Fairfax County has provided drug or mental health treatment services to more than 2,100 people who would have otherwise wound up in jail since launching a diversion initiative five years ago, a recent report on the program says.
Released in August, the 2020 annual Diversion First report suggests the county’s efforts to emphasize support services over incarceration for people with mental health and substance use challenges are starting to pay off.
According to the report, Fairfax County’s jail population saw a 28% decrease from 2015 to 2020 in the number of people with behavioral health issues and misdemeanor charges, while the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board’s Merrifield Crisis Response Center received 37% more cases per year between 2016 and 2020.
Since Diversion First launched on Jan. 1, 2016, total calls for service involving mental illness with police response have risen every year, from 3,566 calls in 2016 to 9,989 in 2020. It wasn’t immediately clear whether that means the number of cases has increased or they are receiving more attention.
“Over the past several years, there has been increased attention on people with mental illness, co-occurring substance use disorders and/or developmental disabilities who come into contact with the criminal justice system for low-level offenses,” Diversion First Director Lisa Potter said in a statement. “In addition, training and screening has increased, allowing for greater opportunities for identification, diversion, and referral and engagement in services.”
Fairfax County created the initiative in the wake of Natasha McKenna’s death at the Adult Detention Center in February 2015. Multiple sheriff’s deputies at the jail hit and used a Taser on McKenna, who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, when attempting to transfer her to another facility.
While prosecutors declined to press charges in McKenna’s death, the county admitted that its jail had “become a warehouse for people with mental illness.”
“Diversion First offers alternatives to incarceration for people with mental illness, co-occurring substance use disorders and/or developmental disabilities, who come into contact with the criminal justice system for low-level offenses,” the initiative’s website says.
Diversion First has expanded from its initial focus on transferring individuals from police custody to the Merrifield Center, which provides behavioral health and substance abuse services, to also encompass housing and judicial components.
Introduced in 2017, the housing aspects of the initiative include money to assist with initial rents and deposits for Oxford House group recovery homes as well as a partnership with the nonprofit New Hope Housing to provide permanent housing.
“The [New Hope Housing] program has been successful in keeping 30 individuals housed while helping to decrease their rate of psychiatric hospitalization and time spent in jail. This program costs considerably less than what it does to house an individual in jail — more than 50% less,” the 2020 report says, adding that 39 people have been served with this outreach throughout the program’s history.
The county has also added specialty dockets to its court system for veterans, mental health, and a drug court.
Fairfax County Chief Public Defender Dawn Butorac says all three dockets have been going well, as the courts are looking to expand the number of accepted individuals. But she notes there’s room for improvement.
“We see plenty of people who come into our system who…should have been diverted to Merrifield, but because it’s left to the individual discretion of each police officer, it’s not really uniformly applied,” Butorac said.
At a recent drug court, adults involved in a drug rehabilitation program talked about their progress and challenges with a judge in conversations that more closely resembled those between a patient and therapist than a typical court hearing.
“How have things been going since we last saw you in court?” Judge Dontaè Bugg said when seeing one participant, a query he echoed throughout his introductions with each person.
Bugg talked to participants one by one, cross-examined them when their statements conflicted, and when the circumstances arose, encouraged them to be truthful with program staff. He noted that participants can sometimes find the process frustrating but encouraged and thanked them when they were honest about relapses.
Launched in September 2018, the drug court is for people who were convicted of a nonviolent crime and violated their probation due to substance abuse. In lieu of jail time, they are given drug testing and counseling requirements and will have their probation terminated if they successfully graduate from the program.
The docket allows for some flexibility, as Bugg demonstrated when accommodating a participant who had sought to visit his grandmother for her birthday. The judge noted the program was able to pivot.
Like the rest of the county’s court system, the specialty dockets were upended by the COVID-19 pandemic, disrupting Court Services staff’s normal support of clients as in-person meetings were temporarily halted, according to the 2020 Diversion First report.
Potter noted that pandemic-related stressors have led to increased anxiety and depression for many people, and people with mental illnesses can be more vulnerable to stressors than compared to the general population.
“We are closely monitoring trends to assess the impacts of the pandemic, as well as overall community needs,” Potter wrote. “Now more than ever, Diversion First programs are essential in our community.”
Just as one crane in Tysons prepares to descend, another has emerged on the other side of I-495 to fill the skyline.
Construction has moved above ground on The Monarch, a luxury condominium tower under development at 7887 Jones Branch Drive northeast of Tysons Galleria, developer Renaissance Centro announced in a news release yesterday (Monday).
The Monarch originally broke ground in April 2019 and was expected to open in late 2020. However, the departure of the project’s contractor stalled work on the building until this past June, after Hoar Construction was selected as the new general contractor.
With construction underway again, The Monarch says Hoar is on schedule to deliver the 20-story, 94-unit tower by mid-2023.
Despite the construction hiatus, more than 30% of the available condos have already been sold, according to the developer, which says the purchase contracts for three of the units have exceeded $3.5 million each — record prices for the Tysons market.
Accompanied by 6,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, The Monarch’s condos come in more than a dozen different floor plans, ranging in size from 800 to 4,090 square feet and in price from $600,000 to $4.1 million.
According to the news release, amenities include personalized concierge service, a hospitality suite for visitors, a fitness center, and a pool:
Designed by WDG Architecture, the iconic Monarch tower will have only two to seven residences per floor, some with direct elevator access. All units except studios will have floor-to-ceiling windows on two or three sides and expansive balconies or terraces.
Residents will enjoy a variety of indoor and outdoor shared spaces for relaxing, socializing, and staying active. The lushly landscaped garden terrace will feature an inviting pool surrounded by lounge seating and grill stations. The terrace will overlook a stand of mature trees including a trail leading to Arbor Row Stream Valley Park.
An impressive residents’ lounge with comfortable seating will be located adjacent to the garden terrace, with a fireplace, book nook, bar area, and catering kitchen. A state-of-the-art fitness center will be on the same floor, and will feature high-end exercise equipment, a stretching area, spa-like locker rooms, and personalized fitness options. Topping it all off will be Monarch’s exclusive 20th floor private dining room with stunning 180-degree views of the surrounding area.
Monarch’s meticulously designed residences are distinguished by spacious living rooms, walk-in showers, large closets, luxurious bathrooms, and white oak flooring throughout. The open chef-inspired kitchens will have oversized waterfall kitchen islands, quartz countertops and full-height backsplashes, concealed-panel Miele appliances, and modern European cabinetry. Optional upgrades include natural stone selections, automated shades, heated floors, wine refrigeration, and more.
The Monarch is part of the six-parcel, mixed-use Arbor Row development that will eventually occupy 19 acres along Westpark Drive.
The first portion of the development was completed in 2015, when Fairfax County cut the ribbon on Arbor Row Stream Valley Park (8101 Jones Branch Drive) and two Jones Branch athletic fields. The Nouvelle, a 27-story residential building, was delivered in 2016.
The 300-unit senior living facility The Mather is scheduled to open a first residential tower at 7929 Westpark Drive in 2023, followed by a second tower in 2024. The complex launched pre-sales for the second tower in June.
In total, Arbor Row will have more than 1,400 residential units and 35,000 square feet of ground-level retail when completed.
Cause of Death Confirmed in Bailey’s Crossroads Murder — “A 19-year-old man stabbed his father several times in the upper body and then burned his father’s body before burying him in the family’s backyard in the Bailey’s Crossroads area of Fairfax County, the county police department said Monday. Philip Nguyen was arrested and charged with second-degree murder last Wednesday in his father’s killing.” [Patch]
Area Residents Can Get Abortion Medication By Mail — Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, which serves the D.C. area, has been offering abortion medications by mail to patients in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia since Aug. 12. The new service was officially announced on Friday (Sept. 10) shortly after the Supreme Court allowed a prohibition on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy to take effect in Texas. [The Washington Post]
Deadline to Apply for Amazon REACH Funds Extended — The deadline to submit affordable housing proposals to Fairfax County for up to $5 million each in Amazon REACH funds has been pushed to 4 p.m. Friday (Sept. 17). The state has committed $15 million annually to support affordable housing in Northern Virginia as part of the deal that brought Amazon’s second headquarters to Arlington County. [Fairfax County Housing and Community Development]
Tysons Consultant Buys Maryland Cybersecurity Company — “Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. (NYSE: BAH) again tapped the mergers and acquisitions market, it announced Monday, purchasing cybersecurity company Tracepoint. Terms of the acquisition weren’t disclosed, but the move follows a strategic investment the McLean management and IT consulting firm made in the Fredericksburg company back in January.” [Washington Business Journal]
Virginia State Police are still investigating the three-vehicle crash that closed I-66 East in the Merrifield area for hours on Thursday (Sept. 9).
The crash killed three people who have now been identified as 28-year-old Lacquora Smith from Alfred, Maine, and her 4-year-old and 6-year-old daughters, state police reported in an update this morning (Monday).
According to police, Smith was driving a 2012 Honda Crosstour east on I-66 when the vehicle lost control near the 64-mile marker at I-495, striking a 2015 Toyota RAV SUV and veering off into a guardrail along the right side of the interstate.
After hitting the guardrail, the Honda swerved back into the eastbound lanes of I-66, struck the Toyota a second time, and continued toward the left side of the interstate.
“The Honda continued off the left side of the interstate and struck the guardrail, after which it spun back into the eastbound lanes of I-66,” the VSP said. “An eastbound tractor-trailer swerved to the right to avoid the spinning Honda, but the two vehicles collided.”
Police responded to the scene around 3:06 a.m.
There were five people in Smith’s Honda at the time of the crash. The two surviving passengers — a 7-year-old girl and a 2-year-old juvenile — were transported to Fairfax Inova Hospital to receive treatment for non-life-threatening injuries.
VSP spokesperson Corinne Geller confirmed that three of the juveniles in the car were Smith’s children, while the fourth was a family member. It was not immediately clear whether the two surviving children have been released from Inova Hospital as of this afternoon.
As previously reported, the adult male driver of the tractor-trailer involved in the crash was not injured, and the Toyota driver, also an adult man, was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
A GoFundMe organized by Catherine Donnell, who identifies herself as Smith’s aunt, has been set up to help the family cover funeral costs and other expenses. The woman says Smith was driving home to New Hampshire after visiting her in Tennessee when the crash occurred.
The fundraiser has drawn more than $16,700 as of 3:15 p.m.
After a one-week drop back into “substantial” territory, Fairfax County is once again seeing high levels of COVID-19 transmission.
For the week of Sept. 5-11, the county saw 111 new cases per 100,000 residents, and 4.1% of tests came back positive for COVID-19 — the two metrics used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Virginia Department of Health to measure the level of community spread.
While the testing positivity rate remains low, the number of cases per 100,000 people has climbed over the 100-case threshold for high transmission.
The rise stems in part from the addition of 286 cases on Friday (Sept. 10), the most new infections that the county has seen in one day since 397 new cases were reported on Feb. 13, according to VDH data. Feb. 21 came close with 283 cases.
As a result, Fairfax County is now averaging 184.4 new cases per day for the past week, surpassing the summer high of 182.6 cases on Aug. 30. The seven-day average is still below the spring peak of 194.4 cases recorded on April 13.
With 130 more cases coming in today (Monday), 86,347 residents of the Fairfax Health District — which includes the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church — have contracted the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. 4,250 people have been hospitalized, and 1,170 people have died, according to the Fairfax County Health Department’s dashboard.
As the particularly contagious Delta variant keeps driving up COVID-19 cases statewide, the VDH announced last Tuesday (Sept. 7) that it has added more than 170 community testing events across the Commonwealth in response to an increase in people seeking to get tested.
That increase extends to the Fairfax Health District, which received more test results in the week of Aug. 29 than any other week since Jan. 24. Testing declined the following week of Sept. 5 leading into Labor Day weekend.
COVID-19 tests remain widely available in Fairfax County from primary care providers, health clinics, and a variety of other community testing sites, such as pharmacies. The county recommends that anyone experiencing symptoms or who has come in close contact with someone that tested positive for COVID-19 get tested, regardless of their vaccination status.
However, the majority of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths in Virginia continue to occur in unvaccinated people, who have developed the disease at 8.5 times the rate of fully vaccinated individuals since mid-January, according to the VDH.
In the Fairfax Health District, 793,392 people have gotten at least one vaccine dose. That constitutes 67% of all residents, including 79.2% of people 18 and older, but it also means just 1,457 more people have gotten a shot since Tuesday.
719,571 Fairfax Health District residents — 72.2% of adults and 60.8% of the overall population — are fully vaccinated.
Local, state, and federal officials have taken an increasingly hardline approach in recent weeks to urging the remaining eligible unvaccinated Americans to get their shot.
President Joe Biden announced a host of new vaccine mandates on Thursday (Sept. 9), including ordering all employers with at least 100 workers to require COVID-19 vaccinations or weekly testing.
“President Biden’s directive to employers with 100 or more employees to require their employees to be vaccinated will build more momentum for COVID-19 vaccination in the private sector. VDH echoes that call,” Virginia State Health Commissioner Dr. M. Norman Oliver said in a statement.
Oliver noted that many major employers in Virginia, including the state government, have already issued mandates.
The Fairfax County government and public school system announced on Aug. 20 that they will require staff to get vaccinated or face weekly testing, though the exact timing of when those requirements will take effect remains nebulous.
Private employers in the county that have implemented vaccine requirements include Capital One, Inova Health System, Google, and Microsoft.
“With the U.S. averaging close to 150,000 cases and about 1,500 deaths per day, primarily attributable to the Delta variant, it is imperative we do all we can to beat back this surge,” Oliver said.
Photo via CDC/Unsplash
(Updated at 11:30 a.m. on 9/14/2021) The Weekly Planner is a roundup of interesting events coming up over the next week in the Tysons area.
We’ve searched the web for events of note in Tysons, Vienna, Merrifield, McLean, and Falls Church. Know of any we’ve missed? Tell us!
Tuesday (Sept. 14)
- Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit at Wolf Trap — 8 p.m. at the Filene Center (1551 Trap Road) — Joined by alternative folk band Waxahatchee, the country band led by Isbell, a former Drive-By Truckers guitarist and four-time Grammy Award winner, returns to Wolf Trap. Proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test is required. Tickets start at $47. Gates open at 6 p.m.
Thursday (Sept. 16)
- Bo-Nita — 8-9:30 p.m. at Boro Park (8350 Broad St.) — Tysons theater company 1st Stage hosts an opening night for its latest play, which runs through Sept. 26. “Bo-Nita” follows the story of a 13-year-old girl and her mother trying to survive. Tickets start at $20, with discounts for military members and students.
Friday (Sept. 17)
- Chillin’ on Church — 6:30-9:30 p.m. on Church Street — The Town of Vienna holds its second and last block party featuring food trucks and alcohol. Bring your own lawn chairs and listen to Déja Grüv Band, a 14-piece ensemble that performs music genres from Motown and jazz to pop, rhythm and blues, country, and more.
- Shaed at The Plaza — 6:30 p.m. at Tysons Corner Center Plaza (1961 Chain Bridge Road) — Tysons Corner Center is closing out the summer with a September concert series at the mall plaza. Doors open at 5 p.m. for this week’s performer, indie pop trio Shaed.
- Sunset Cinema — 7:45-10 p.m. at Cherry Hill Park (312 Park Ave.) — Falls Church City’s fall outdoor movie series kicks off with Disney’s “Raya and the Last Dragon.” Visitors are encouraged to grab blankets, bring picnics, and/or enjoy snacks, drinks, and popcorn for sale.
Saturday (Sept. 18)
- Korus Festival — all day at the Bloomingdale’s parking lot (8100 Tysons Corner Center) — With hourly entertainment, kids’ activities, food, and more, celebrate Korean culture this weekend. The free festival begins at 10 a.m. both days and has hourly events throughout the day, ending at 9 p.m. on Saturday and 8 p.m. Sunday.
- Hop Harvest Beer Festival — 12-7 p.m. at Caboose Commons (2918 Eskridge Road) — Caboose Brewing Co. hosts several local breweries and cideries in Merrifield for the second annual Hop Harvest Festival. There will be a barbecue, an outdoor bar, and games.
- OFC Block Party — 1-4 p.m. at The Old Firehouse Center (1440 Chain Bridge Road) in McLean — McLean Community Center’s Old Firehouse celebrates 31 years of serving local youth with food, games, entertainment, crafts, giveaways, and more.
- Buckets N Boards Comedy Percussion Show — 5 p.m. at McLean Central Park (1468 Dolley Madison Blvd.) — The comedy-music duo will perform a free 90-minute kids-focused show, featuring ridiculous songs, tap dancing, and more.
Sunday (Sept. 19)
- Perchfest— 12-3 p.m. and 3-5 p.m. at Capital One Center (Capital One Drive North and South) — The sky park on top of Capital One Hall ends its three-day grand opening festival, which starts on Friday. Tickets for the first two days have already sold out, but registration is still open for the finale. Paid parking is available at the building on the Capital One Drive South side as well as surrounding lots.
Photo via USAsiaPacific/Twitter
Fairfax County Public Schools could start providing livestreamed or recorded classes for students who can’t be in school buildings due to COVID-19 later this month.
Superintendent Scott Brabrand told the Fairfax County School Board on Thursday (Sept. 9) that administrators are developing a plan to let students attend their regular classes remotely when they have to quarantine, isolate, or pause in-person learning in response to testing positive for COVID-19 or being identified as a possible close contact of someone with the virus.
“We’re looking at several different options to get the important instructional content to our students, so it could be livestreaming. It could be teachers recording the lesson and posting the lesson,” FCPS Chief Academic Officer Sloan Presidio said at the meeting.
As of Thursday, FCPS has seen 555 reported cases of COVID-19 since Aug. 1, including 432 student infections. While that’s just 0.24% of the district’s 178,000-plus student population, the disruption in learning that comes with each positive case can affect entire classes or sports teams.
In addition to requiring isolation for students who test positive and quarantines for any unvaccinated close contacts, FCPS has been pausing in-school activities for students who could potentially be close contacts so the Fairfax County Public Health Department can conduct contact-tracing investigations.
“Fully vaccinated students who are identified as a close contact with someone with COVID-19 do not need to remain home as long as they do not have symptoms,” the school district says in its current health and safety guidance.
Last week, FCPS introduced a new system for electronically reporting students’ vaccination statuses in an effort to speed up the contact-tracing process.
Brabrand told the school board that FCPS is examining whether the 14-day quarantine period for unvaccinated students who come into close contact with a COVID-positive individual could be reduced to 10 or seven days.
Five of the seven COVID-19 outbreaks that have occurred in schools this academic year so far involved athletics, according to Brabrand. FCPS announced on Aug. 30 that it will require student athletes to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, effective Nov. 8.
A state law requires all public schools to provide in-person education for the 2021-2022 school year but allows for some exceptions. If a district offers online education for some students, it’s legally required to do so for all, such as students with disabilities and those with language needs, Brabrand said.
FCPS currently has a virtual program for a limited number of students with documented medical needs.
Braddock District Representative Megan McLaughlin raised concerns about the lack of a virtual learning option for elementary school students, who remain ineligible for the vaccine.
“We’ve gotten hundreds of emails from parents,” she said, pointing to Prince George’s County in Maryland. “They were offering it to 12,000 kids, and right now we only offer it to 400 kids.”
If approved, the classroom live-streaming option would be exclusively for students who aren’t able to attend school in-person for COVID-related reasons, as stated in Brabrand’s presentation and previously confirmed by FCPS officials.
FCPS officials said that, due to limited staffing, the live-streamed classes wouldn’t be interactive like last school year, when the district adopted a concurrent learning model where teachers worked with in-person and online students simultaneously. The school board largely balked at the idea of continuing that experiment into the new year.
Under the live-streaming approach, teachers could assist students through email correspondence. FCPS is reviewing whether office hours or other forms of outreach could be involved.
FCPS officials expect to present more details of their plans to the school board at a work session on Sept. 21.
Fairfax County Recognizes 9/11 Anniversary — For those who missed it, watch the remembrance ceremony that Fairfax County held on Saturday (Sept. 11) to mark 20 years since the 9/11 attacks. The Town of Vienna commemorated the occasion with a ceremony of its own, and the McLean Community Center posted a “Taps” tribute with comments from local faith leaders.
Virginia DMV to Resume Walk-in Services — “Beginning Oct. 5, Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles customers may choose to schedule an appointment for service or opt for walk-in service on alternating days at all 75 customer service centers…During the pandemic, [the] DMV began operating by appointment only as it reopened offices in May 2020 after a temporary closure due to the rapid spread of COVID-19.” [Inside NoVA]
Robbery Reported in Mosaic District — A man told Fairfax County police on Sept. 4 that an acquaintance had assaulted him and taken his property in the 2900 block of District Avenue in Merrifield. Police arrested the suspect, who fled the scene of the assault, on Sept. 7 and charged him with robbery and malicious wounding. The victim went to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. [FCPD]
Lee Highway Renaming Task Force Meets Tonight — The Confederate Names Task Force appointed to determine whether Fairfax County should rename Lee Highway (Route 29) and Lee-Jackson Memorial Highway (Route 50) will hold its second meeting at 7 p.m. today (Monday). The meeting will be virtual and can be followed online, on Channel 16, or by phone at 703-324-5300. [Fairfax County Government/Twitter]
The weekend is almost here. Before you say goodbye to the Capital One Center cranes or head to bed for some much-needed sleep, let’s revisit recent news from the Tysons area that you might’ve missed.
These were the most-read stories on Tysons Reporter this week:
- Tysons pizzeria team shares secret to success after international win
- Three people killed in crash, shutting down I-66 East in Merrifield
- Proposed redevelopment of Park Place office building could reshape Tysons skyline
- Vienna police respond to hammer-wielding driver, Chick-fil-A disruption
- Disney store at Tysons Corner Center to close this month
Ideas for stories we should cover can be sent to [email protected] or submitted as an anonymous tip. Photos of scenes from around the community are welcome too, with credit always given to the photographer.
You can find previous rundowns of top stories on the site.
Work by dozens of artists from across the mid-Atlantic region will soon be on display at the McLean Community Center, courtesy of McLean Project for the Arts.
The local visual arts-focused nonprofit announced on Wednesday (Sept. 8) that it will introduce its latest exhibition “(Not) Strictly Painting” to the community center’s Emerson Gallery (1234 Ingleside Avenue) next Saturday (Sept. 18).
This will be the 13th iteration of the juried, biennial exhibition, which will include paintings and other kinds of art that’s somehow related to painting from 37 different artists. MPA says it is “one of the region’s most important painting exhibitions.”
“(Not) Strictly Painting will exhibit works by some of the most interesting and innovative artists currently active in the Mid-Atlantic region,” MPA Director of Exhibitions and Curator Nancy Sausser said in a statement. “The exhibit was expertly juried by Virginia Treanor and Foon Sham, a curator and an artist, respectively. Their choices will be displayed separately online and blended together in the gallery.”
A Virginia-based artist, Foon Sham also teaches art at the University of Maryland at College Park, while Virginia Treanor serves as an associate curator at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in D.C.
Once the exhibition launches, the MPA Emerson Gallery will be open for viewing from 1-4 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays, though it will be limited to six visitors at a time to allow for social distancing.
MCC currently requires all visitors to wear masks that fully cover their mouth and nose while attending programs at its facilities in accordance with federal and local COVID-19 health guidelines. Fairfax County has been requiring masks for visitors and employees in county government facilities since Aug. 9.
“In addition, patrons are requested to do their best to observe six feet of social distance from other patrons as often as possible and to wash their hands often,” MPA said in its news release.
MPA will host a virtual opening reception for “(Not) Strictly Painting” from 7-8 p.m. on Sept. 23. A full list of the artists featured in the exhibition, which will run through Nov. 13, can be found on the nonprofit’s website.
