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Incident Hotline: 1-800-355-2280
Want to know how to seal or expunge your criminal record? Visit the For Youth section for more information on youth records.
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Juvenile Justice Boards & Councils focus on crime prevention in their local communities.
Review DJJ forms by office or by subject. Forms are available for download in multiple file formats.
Juvenile Probation Officers (JPO) assess the needs and risks of youth entering the juvenile justice system.
Browse online health tips and resources by topic in the Health Initiatives section.
The Civil Citation Dashboard contains data on Florida’s use of Civil Citation as an alternative to arrest for 1st time misdemeanants.
The Juvenile Justice System Improvement Project (JJSIP) is a national initiative to reform the juvenile justice system by translating "what works" into everyday practice and policy.
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Partners, Providers & Staff
Since 2002, the Department of Juvenile Justice, Office of Residential Services has focused on increasing effectiveness of service delivery by implementing Evidence Based Practices (EBP). By systematically introducing evidence-based assessment, intervention, treatment and management practices that research has shown reduce the risk of re-offending, we help youth find a positive direction for their lives.
The foundation of these efforts, the Residential Positive Achievement Change Tool (R-PACT), an "actuarial" assessment instrument modified from the Community PACT was created specifically for our residential programs. Its purpose is to identify the youth’s highest scoring criminogenic needs, guide the development of intervention strategies and assist with determining progress.
The R-PACT is utilized to develop a Youth Needs Assessment that will effectively identify those risk/needs and protective factors from which specific interventions are developed. These interventions make up what we refer to as the Performance Plan and are used as the basis for determining a youth’s release from a residential program. The Performance Plan will dovetail into the existing Youth Empowerment Success (YES) Plan (Probation's case plan) when youth are transitioning back into the community.
Lastly, the R-PACT provides assessment data in the aggregate to assist in the development of a program profile that outlines a program's treatment successes by domain. This will assist commitment management staff in identifying appropriate placements for youth being presented for commitment.
The R-PACT assessment data were studied for validation of the R-PACT tool and the assessment's findings by Associate Professor and Graduate Director of the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice at The Florida State University Carter Hay, PhD, principal investigator, and Research Assistant Alex Widdowson, MA. The following are the results of the validation study:
For R-PACT questions, contact:
Office of Residential Services 2737 Centerview Drive Tallahassee, FL 32399-3100