What is the DRAI Committee?

Florida Statutes require the Department of Juvenile Justice to partner with a collaboration of juvenile justice stakeholders to develop the DRAI. The statute outlines the members that must be included in the collaboration. F.S. 985.245 Risk Assessment Instrument. – (2)(a) The risk assessment instrument for detention care placement determinations and orders shall be developed by the department in agreement with representatives appointed by the following associations: the Conference of Circuit Judges in Florida, the Prosecuting Attorneys Association, the Public Defenders Association, the Florida Sheriffs Association, and the Florida Association of Chiefs of Police. Each association shall appoint two individuals, one representing an urban area and one representing a rural area. The parties involved shall evaluate and revise the risk assessment instrument as is considered necessary using the method for revision as agreed by the parties.

2017 Detention Risk Assessment Instrument Committee Assembly

In mid-December 2017, the Department convened a meeting of the Detention Risk Assessment Instrument Committee. The committee was tasked with the evaluation and approval of the DRAI utilizing comprehensive data and research completed by a national juvenile justice research team.

Invitations to participate in the 2017 DRAI Committee were sent to each of the statutorily mandated associations. The members below were identified as representatives for their respective associations.

2017 DRAI Committee Members:

2017 DRAI Committee Meetings

Committee members met four times over the course of a month and a half to review the analysis, understand how the instrument was designed, identified additional questions that needed to be explored, and allow research the opportunity to provide data-driven responses to each question.

Analysis Overview

Here is an overview of the research sample used for this analysis:

Research Sample:

• All youth screened in calendar year 2016
• Total number of screenings: 48,493
  • 79% Male, 21% Female
  • 56% Black, 27% White, 15% Hispanic, 1% Other
  • 67 counties (range 1 to 5096 youth contributed)
  • More than 50% from 7 counties (Hillsborough, Orange, Broward, Miami-Dade, Pinellas, Duval, and Lee)

Validation and Revision Report

For an in-depth look at the data, you can download a report on the analysis completed by the Justice Research Center.

• DRAI Validation Study