House Bill 173 and Senate Bill 654
These Bills will greatly expand the use of detention. The dynamics in play are essentially the same as last year with a few new twists.
The House sponsor is Rep. Sandy Adams (R-Oviedo) who has risen to Chair of Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations, a very powerful position. Her vision for the detention bill is frustrating. It pits a growing network of stakeholders and advocates against her proposal when she is doing other good deeds to preserve service availability and demand fiscal accountability within the juvenile justice system. The Senate sponsor this year, a former Sheriff, Charles Dean (R-Inverness) also has acted to protect services to children within the public safety budget.
Impressions must be made on both that the detention bill runs in the opposite direction of the Juvenile Justice Blueprint Commission. Their findings were designed to put Florida on a different and better path. And, as our friends in the public defender offices will attest along with other legal advocates, the changes in law are not needed to detain children for longer periods when that action is appropriate; other current provisions in Florida law when exercised already allow for it.
In this bill as filed, the reasons for allowing a child to be detained and for longer periods are numerous.
Girls, frequently detained as a result of domestic disagreements which may involve pushing and shoving, face particular peril. They could be brought back to court and slammed into detention for violating a "valid order" when that very decree is based on a lack of clarity about what is actually taking place at the home. It's not as if the courts have investigators at their disposal to make home visits and get all the facts. Neglect and abuse of girls is prevalent but not known according to the research being brought forward by the National Center for Girls and Young Women. There is a better blueprint available on how to best treat girls. Expanding the use of detention is not one of recommended options.
Boys, too, would find stays in detention extended for a range of reasons. Simply said, the system has to be pushed to remove children from detention instead of finding ways to keep them there.
In addition, placement decisions by the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice upon adjudication of a child by the courts could be over-ridden by judges without cause. While the Children's Campaign has supported the role of the courts in other debates about the process of law within the juvenile justice system, this is not one of them. While many experienced judges serve on the juvenile bench and would use caution, far too many lack actual juvenile court involvement. Placement directives to more "back-end" and correctional style programs would increase. This would snag children with relatively minor infractions and/or drug and alcohol problems and who would be better served and at less cost in community based treatment settings. Even the adult corrections system is being forced to consider the upsides of employing better practices. The juvenile justice system can't afford to repeat the adult corrections mistakes.
Readers of our Juvenile Justice Front Burners may recall that success in beating this bill last year took place in the Senate after it passed the House. In addition to the very vocal opposition by the Florida Association of Counties, Children's Campaign, Inc., and the Florida Public Defenders Association, a number of other groups worked behind the scenes. This year the Southern Poverty Law Center has joined the fight. They have distributed a copy of the House staff analysis.
We must bring forward the true fiscal impact to be levied onto the state and to the counties.
As of today, DJJ has yet to speak out in public hearings against the detention bill even though it is working on a philanthropically financed detention reform project. Not bringing that reform forward in a highly visible way to counter this detention bill is troublesome. Observers wonder if it has more to do with budget negotiations that what is in the best interest of the children so affected.
An alternative exists. Children's Campaign, Inc. has brought forward a Blueprint Reform Bill - SB 2218 and HB 1335. It was presented in our Breaking News last week.
In terms of strategy, the Blueprint Reform Bill provides an opportunity to go on offense about what should and could be done. Far too much of the advocacy effort in Florida is focused on playing defense. The reform bill provides additional forums to cover some of the same ground, and more ground, in a proactive way. Join the coalition and add your organization to the endorsement list.
Florida Juvenile Justice Association Executive Director Speaks Out
Cathy Craig-Myers, Executive Director of FJJA, recently penned an op-ed that ran in the Tallahassee Democrat. Ms. Craig-Myers makes the argument that Florida has been unable to fix the juvenile justice system for two reasons: lack of continuous political will to make the changes, and an "unwillingness to acknowledge that public safety must begin with an adequately funded juvenile justice system."
Texas Sentencing More Youths as Adults
Following a sex abuse scandal that rocked the Texas juvenile justice system, state officials decided that the agency would no longer handle youths ages 19 to 21. Unfortunately, child advocates believe that this well meaning step, taken to protect the younger children in the system, is causing the 22% increase in older youths (246 in the past year) to be moved to adult criminal justice system. Read the full story here.
Televised Town Hall Meeting Available on Website
Produced in cooperation with WJCT Television in Jacksonville, the program is airing in the north Florida media market. The town hall meeting covers the 5 Promises including challenges to the juvenile justice system and lays bare the crisis facing Florida's children.