Counties Role in Juvenile Justice
Counties are in a cost sharing relationship with the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), but have no input on how secure detention is administered. Thus, counties role in juvenile detention is strictly financial.
Counties pay for any youth held in secure detention that is:
- Waiting for their case to be disposed of
- Charged with violation of probation
- On violation of a court order, including Failure to Appears (FTA)
The state's share of secure detention is limited to youth who:
- Have been "committed" to the Department for treatment
- Are on "conditional release" status with the court
The original cost shift legislation passed in 2004, at which point non-fiscally constrained counties became the primary revenue source for the state’s juvenile detention facilities. In theory the breakdown was simple: counties would pay for juvenile offenders before trial and the state would pay for juvenile offenders after their case has been resolved. However, the actual implementation is far from a simple process.
How Billing and Reconciliation Works in Florida
The non-fiscally constrained counties are billed monthly based on theDepartment’s estimates of how many “predisposition days” youth from each county will spend in detention. Disputes occur quarterly, and are only permitted based on the youth’s address and actual county of residence.
Counties never receive money back when errors are discovered, but rather a credit for their next monthly payment. Since the initial stage of this cost-share experiment, counties have been unable to accurately predict their budgets due to the timeliness of the dispute resolution process, called reconciliation. In fact, each year when the reconciliation is complete some counties receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in bills, and others may receive credits for their next billing cycle. This billing process makes counties ability to plan for such expenditures extremely difficult.
DJJ posts all correspondence and data regarding the detention cost share on their website.
Local Options
Detaining non-violent youth lead to unnecessary costs and damage the adolescent’s chances of exiting the criminal justice system, especially since most youth age out of crime. Secure detention should only be reserved for violent and dangerous offenders. Thus, FAC believes Florida should focus efforts to detain the right youth, like habitual violent offenders, and focus on less expensive community alternatives for youth who do not meet detention criteria.
Many judges are left with only two options when a youth violates the law: sending the youth home with family, or sending the youth to secure detention. There is a lack of available alternatives to secure detention for youth who need more supervision than returning home with mom and dad. Fortunately, there are alternatives to detention that are proven to reduce recidivism. Some counties have been experimenting with local options for judges. For example, Hillsborough has a civil citation program, Miami-Dade uses electronic monitoring, and Pinellas uses youth court to provide more guidance for youth involved in the criminal justice system.
During the 2011 session, theLegislature gave the Department and local communities an additional resource –civil citation for first time misdemeanor offenders. In addition to this substantive piece oflegislation, the Association was successful in obtaining proviso language that require FAC and the Department to submit joint recommendations to the Legislature and the Governor by November 1.
SB2112 also became law after the 2011 session.This bill allows counties or Sheriffs to form regional detention facilities to house pre-adjudicatory youth. The Florida Model Jail Standards is in the process of developing standards for youth detention facilities at the moment.Counties can operate facilities and not pay into detention cost share if the county or Sheriff meets certain criteria.
A National Standard Begins in Florida
Four pilot sites have been selected in Florida to create, or expand upon, local alternatives to secure detention. Using the Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative, or JDAI, Broward, Duval, Hillsborough and Palm Beach counties will embark on detention reform in Florida giving local judges more options for youth who violate the law. Every jurisdiction that has implemented JDAI has seen a reduction in detention costs, less juvenile crime, and increased public safety.
JDAI has nearly 20 years of research that has shown how community-based alternatives to detention can increase public safety and save tax dollars. To read Two Decades of JDAI: From Demonstration Project to National Standard, click here.
Since youth who experience detention are more likely to end up in county jails and prisons as adults, ask about local alternatives for your community. With support from the Governor, the Department of Juvenile Justice, and local leaders, Florida can improve delivery of justice to youthful offenders, improve public safety and save tax dollars.
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