Delegate McQuinn presented HB 2194 to allow a political subdivision that participates in the Virginia Retirement System to provide enhanced retirement benefits comparable to state police for service earned as a juvenile detention specialist.

"They work with the same youth. They work with, they do the same job and face the same challenges, as their state counterparts," McQuinn said, arguing local detention specialists face high injury risk and repeated exposure to violent or threatening youth.

Witnesses from regional juvenile detention centers and the Virginia Juvenile Detention Association urged adoption. "The retention rate is one of the options that we must speak on," said a superintendent testifying in support, adding that localities want the option and that the state counterpart already has the benefit.

Committee staff summarized the JLARC study of public-safety classifications, saying local detention specialists scored 2 out of 4 for "level of public safety responsibility" and 3 out of 4 for "level of demand," and that worker's compensation claims for local detention specialists were comparable to local police.

A motion to pass HB 2194 by for the day carried; committee members said they would continue working on the fiscal and policy details before advancing the bill.