In the early 1970's, planners in the Tidewater area who were addressing the gaps in the juvenile service system determined that the most pressing need was in the area of residential facilities for juveniles. Since the Tidewater Detention Home (TDH) was already successfully providing services on a regional basis, it was decided to use it as a model and set up a series of group homes to serve the entire region. The cities of Chesapeake, Franklin, Portsmouth, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach and the counties of Isle of Wight and Southampton elected to support the regional approach. Originally, the system was administered by the city of Chesapeake, which also administers TDH. The staff reported to the TDH board.

Our first home, the Regional Girls Group Home (currently the Regional Group Home) opened in 1973. In 1974, the Virginia Beach Crisis Home opened and 1976 saw the opening of the Chesapeake Boys Home and the Portsmouth Boys Home. At this point, it became apparent that the system had become too large for the city of Chesapeake to administer on behalf of the other member jurisdictions. Fortunately, Section 16.1-315 of the Code of Virginia provided for the formation of regional commissions to operate group homes and/or detention homes for three or more jurisdictions. By July 1977, a charter agreement had been signed by each of our seven localities, forming the Tidewater Regional Group Home Commission as a separate legal entity to operate group homes for the participating jurisdictions.

Through the years, we have continued to develop and grow. In 1977, we moved the Regional Girls Group Home to its current location in Virginia Beach and, in 1984, changed it from an all-girls program to a co-educational facility. Centerville Group Home opened in 1979. In 1986, we moved into our new Crisis Home in Virginia Beach, the first time that the Commission planned and constructed its own building. The Tidewater Regional Family Group Home System, designed to provide independent living skills to older teenagers, was established the next year. This program’s residents live with foster parents who are supported by our casework staff.

In 1991, we moved into non-residential services when we started the In-Home Service Program (IHSP) and the Challenge Outreach for Youth (COFY) program. IHSP counselors do their work in their clients' homes and are available 24 hours a day. Challenge Outreach is our version of the detention outreach services that have been successfully employed in other localities.

In 1993, we began running Salem House in Virginia Beach when we assumed the operation of Unit IV, a pre-dispositional program formerly run by TDH. In 1995, we took over the Transitional Independent Living Apartment Program from Catholic Charities. Renamed the Apartment Living Program, it works with youth between the ages of 16 - 20 who are able to live in supervised apartments and move toward independent living.

When the General Assembly passed the Virginia Juvenile Community Crime Control Act (VJCCCA) in 1996, the services of the Commission were greatly expanded. Each of our seven member localities elected to have us develop and implement diversion programs for them. Therefore, in addition to expanding the use of our existing services, the Commission added two new service units: Diversion East and Diversion West Programs. In 1999, these two units were combined into Community Alternative Programs.

In 1997, the Portsmouth Boys Home was converted to a pre-dispositional facility and renamed the Westhaven Crisis Center. This has enabled us to provide emergency shelter and crisis services to the Peninsula and our more western localities. And in 1998, the Regional Group Home Outpatient Program (a spin-off of the RGH residential program), formed its own unit and became Outpatient Group Services (OGS).

We have also developed a number of additional specialized programs to better meet the needs of our communities:

Challenge Outreach provides electronic monitoring, specialized parole transition services and supervises the Commitment Diversion Program, which works with youth who are at risk of being committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice.

In 1995, the In-Home Service Program expanded its services aimed at youth involved with alcohol and drug use and/or sale into a regional program called the Tidewater Juvenile Substance Abuse Program (TJSAP). They also began the successful Parents and Children Together Against Violence (P.A.C.T.) program for the city of Portsmouth, working with families with severe histories of physical abuse. IHSP also holds Parent Support Groups, ongoing groups that promote realistic alternatives to ineffective or abusive discipline, in all localities except Virginia Beach and Franklin.

The Outpatient Group Services program provides Anger Management Groups that work with aggressive or violent youth and Enrichment Groups that provide structured cultural, skill building, recreational and community service activities. And through Virginia Beach Court, OGS also offers the Early Intervention Program (which includes shoplifting diversion groups;  FACET, which teaches problem-solving, nurturing and anger/stress management; and the SOS program, a status offender diversion program) and the Launch Program (serving older adolescents who are on probation/parole, providing them with job readiness skills, referral to job placements and ongoing coaching and mentoring.

Under Community Alternatives, the Juvenile Conference Committee Program has volunteer citizen panels that hear the cases of first-time juvenile offenders with misdemeanor crimes, prescribe sanctions and monitor the juvenile for 90 days. Successful completion enables the youth to avoid a criminal record. The After-School Programs, staffed with certified teachers, target middle school youth who are not yet involved with the juvenile court but are considered to be at risk. They provide structured educational, recreational and social activities, as well as group counseling, between the critical hours of 3-6 PM. The School-Based Case Manager Program assigns school-based case managers to each of Chesapeake’s high schools, where they provide early intervention, counseling and linkage to community resources.

In addition to serving our member localities, the VJCCCA allows us to provide services such as Parent Support Groups, TJSAP, In-Home Services, and the Hampton Intensive Probation program to Hampton Court Services on a contractual basis.