Florida’s Accountability and Program Assist adjustments how kids are taken into custody

TAMPA, Florida (WFLA) – A new law signed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis updates a cost-sharing plan for detention costs between Florida counties and the Department of Juvenile Justice, and permanently implements an accountability and support program within the DJJ.

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The new law changes Florida’s statutes to maintain a program called Accountability and Program Support with the DJJ. The program was created in the budget law of the past financial year.

In last year’s version of the program, the name of the service was changed from “Prevention and Victim Services” to “Prevention Services”, as, according to the state legislature, DJJ has not provided victim services for several years.

A DJJ spokesperson further explained the change, telling 8 On Your Side that the accountability and program support program has already been set up under the Department’s Support Services and the new law makes it permanent in the Florida Bylaws.

The formal establishment of the program will allow the DJJ secretary to appoint an assistant secretary to administer the program and to focus more on the “procurement and program oversight efforts”.

In addition, the DJJ representative said that the name of the program was “a separate issue” from the creation of the program and that the bill created “a DJJ program of accountability and program support and the separate bureau for prevention and victim services in Bureau of Prevention Services . This change was made in the Implementation Act for the 2020-21 financial year, but is permanent “by HB 885.

Among the changes to this year’s law HB 885 is the consolidation of the requirements introduced in the past financial year on how to deal with the detention of children, court dates and alternative consequences due to the change in several state laws, according to the DJJ.

The first set of changes adjusts children’s appearances in court and the incarceration of a child if they fail to appear on their court date.

Under the new law: Courts must consider the following information when dealing with the absence of a child defendant:

• Before a court can order a child’s no-show detention, it must assess whether the absence was intentional
• Whether the notice from the official court record was sent to the child’s address
• Whether someone terminated the child in any way
• Whether the child is being represented by an attorney and whether that attorney has information about the no-show intent or whether it was out of the child’s control
• Whether a representative of the DJJ contacted or tried to contact the child
• Does DJJ have any more information to help the court decide whether or not to take the child into custody?

DJJ says, “HB 885 requires that circuitry, in consultation with the DJJ, law enforcement, judges, prosecutors and public defenders, develop written plans that determine the alternative consequence component.”

Going forward, each jurisdiction must develop a written plan of alternative consequences based on penalties that reflect the severity of the violations and numerous other factors.

These factors include:

• The assessed criminogenic needs and risks of the child
• Age and degree of maturity of the child
• The effectiveness of the sanction or incentive to motivate the child to behave in accordance with the law

Alternative consequences and the written plan must be developed by the judiciary together with the judges, the prosecutor, the public defender, the regional lawyer, the relevant law enforcement agencies and the DJJ.

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The law also repeals Florida Statute 985,686, which created a cost-sharing plan between the DJJ and Florida County for juvenile detention.

Now the plan is being controlled by another law to ensure that the counties are not “tax restricted” and do not have to pay all of the detention costs.

According to the law, a representative of the DJJ says: “The payment is calculated by multiplying the percentage of the county’s detention days used by 50 percent of the total detention costs in the previous fiscal year. The department pays the rest of the detention costs. s. 985.686, FS and part of s. 985.6865, FS, were out of date and were therefore removed from the FL Statute under HB 885. “

Beginning in fiscal year 2021-2022, the law requires the DJJ to consult the Florida Department of Education and be empowered to examine alternative models for providing and funding educational services for youth in detention and residential facilities. This change results from the amendment of a Florida statute, see 1003.52.

The evaluation must include materials gathered through information requests and must verify the “viability” of the alternative models, as well as provide assessments and direct educational services that include “special education, vocational and training services, transition planning, educational program”, accountability standards, research-based best practices for the training of youth involved in the judiciary and the recruitment, recruitment and training of teachers. “

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The law states that the training and assessment requirements contained in the law will expire on June 1, 2022.