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Every youth under the age of 18 charged with a
crime in Florida is referred to the Department of Juvenile
Justice. A referral is similar to an arrest in the adult
criminal justice system. The Department provides a
recommendation to the State Attorney and the Court regarding
appropriate sanctions and services for the youth. When making a
recommendation, the Department has several options that allow
the youth to remain in his or her home community.
One option is diversion, which uses programs
that are alternatives to the formal juvenile justice system for
youth who have been charged with a minor crime. Diversion
programs include Community Arbitration, Juvenile Alternative
Services Program (JASP), Teen Court, Intensive Delinquency
Diversion Services (IDDS), Civil Citation, Boy and Girl Scouts,
Boys and Girls Clubs, mentoring programs, and alternative
schools.
Each youth is assigned a Juvenile Probation
Officer who monitors compliance and helps the youth connect with
service providers. If the youth does not comply with Probation,
is charged with a serious crime, or has a significant history of
offenses, the youth may be ordered to live in a residential
facility for a period of time.
Youth referred for diversion and or court
supervision may have a variety of conditions or sanctions of
supervision to follow.
• Restitution (payment) to the victim(s);
• No victim contact;
• Community service hours;
• Letter of apology to the victim(s);
• Curfew;
• Forfeiture of driver's license;
• Avoid contact with co-defendants, friends, or acquaintances who are deemed to be inappropriate associations;
• Referrals to local social service agencies; and
• Substance abuse or mental health counseling
Conditional Release is designed to provide
monitoring and services to those youth who are transitioning
back to the community after being in a residential program.
These youth have court-ordered sanctions and services that they
must complete. Youth on Probation or Conditional Release may be
ordered by the Court (or referred by the Department) to attend a
Day Treatment program while they are being supervised. Day
Treatment programs provide additional monitoring of youth and
typically offer an alternative educational setting. They also
provide additional services, such as anger management classes,
social skills building, and substance abuse education.
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