Department of Juvenile Justice

Plight of girls in juvenile justice program explored in Daytona Beach paper

JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM EXPLORED
Champions for Children Electronic Network (CCEN) May 9, 2002

The Daytona Beach News-Journal completed a four-day series of articles on the Florida juvenile justice system last week. The articles analyzed system-wide problems, gaps in services, the special needs of girls (see below for a special article from the Children's Campaign) and the high rates of incarceration, including children with only histories of misdemeanors.

Statistics, state reports, and interviews with administrators, youths, and parents were also used to illustrate current challenges.  Attention is also drawn to the fact that the state has reduced prevention and intervention programs with the dollars going instead to build and operate more "deep end" juvenile facilities.

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DOES ANYONE REALLY SEE THEIR PAIN?
Girls in the Juvenile Justice System The number of girls entering Florida's juvenile justice system is increasing at an alarming rate.  Statistics compiled by the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice show a 53-percent increase in the number of girls referred over the past 5 years.

We are faced with a startling reality:  rather than providing intervention and treatment services, there is an increasing criminalization of girls, who now make up the fastest growing segment of the juvenile justice and criminal justice system. This trend compels us to act on behalf of our daughters, our nieces, our sisters, our granddaughters and the girl next door. We must advocate for and make available quality gender-responsive services for girls and young women.

Some experts have found that the growth in referrals is due in part not to a significant increase in violent behavior but to the re-labeling of girls' family conflict as violent offenses; the change in police practices regarding domestic violence and aggressive behavior; the gender bias in the processing of misdemeanor cases; and perhaps, a fundamental systemic failure to understand the unique developmental issues facing girls today.

Pathways to the juvenile justice system for girls are paved by prior victimization.  The typical female delinquent or status offender has been sexually abused and/or physically abused, has grown up in the midst of serious family conflict, lives in the inner city, has been placed in foster care at some point and lacks the education and work skills necessary to support herself. Girls have often been traumatized by sexual and physical abuse, as well as familial substance abuse and domestic violence.  Girls often use drugs to numb the pain of childhood trauma. Girls who are victims of sexual abuse are more likely to run away and more likely to be arrested and placed outside of the home. Girls' behavioral problems are usually the focus of attention and as a result we fail to focus on the interventions that are needed to address the underlying sadness, isolation, sense of hopelessness and early trauma.

While girls account for one out of 4 arrests in America, appropriate services that are designed to meet their unique needs are lacking and in some areas non-existent.   When girl-responsive services are available, research and experience show us that girls have significant strengths that can be drawn upon to overcome the multiple stressors and past trauma that create daily challenges for them. What can you do? 

Here are some suggestions:  

	Be a mentor to a girl in your local community. Help a young woman create a safety plan for all kinds of potential violent situations.  Include a list of emergency contacts and telephone numbers.
	Volunteer at the local juvenile justice programs including detention centers and become an advocate for girls.
	Promote community safety by raising state and local awareness  of the underlying factors that place girls at risk of involvement  in the justice system.
	Identify, promote, and support girl responsive, developmentally sound and culturally competent practice with girls.
	Email this story to a friend. Lets make a commitment today  to take action on the needs of girls.
	JOIN FLORIDA'S CAMPAIGN FOR PUBLIC SAFETY TODAY.  Visit www.iamforkids.org , e-mail us at flcampaign@aol.com   or call 850-425-2600 for more information   For more information contact:   Roy Miller Jason Zaborske Children's Campaign Champions for Children Electronic Network

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3 Department of Juvenile Justice employees reinstated with back pay

TALLAHASSEE On Thursday, Jan. 17, Circuit Judge Nikki Clark ruled that the Department of Juvenile Justice improperly used race as a determining factor in laying off personnel and ordered that two affected workers be returned to work with back pay.

Also Thursday, DJJ reinstated whistle-blower Michael Gibbons of Sarasota to his job with back pay. A top-rated JPO, Gibbons was singled out for speaking to the media about DJJ's failed "sweat-patch" drug testing of career employees.

 "This is an excellent example of why state employees need a strong Career Service System so that good employees are not unfairly punished for speaking out about bad policies," said AFSCME Council 79 President Jeanette D. Wynn.

At the same hearing, Judge Clark ruled that DJJ employees had been denied the right to hearing over the layoffs, but declined to stop the layoffs immediately by issuing a temporary injunction.

Legal action against the layoffs will go forward in court and at the Public Employees Relations Commission.

 

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News Clips:

Feds looking into juvenile abuse claims against agency
An investigator from the U.S. Department of Justice is seeking information about possible abuses of juveniles incarcerated by the state's Department of Juvenile Justice. 9/7/02

State plan targets delinquency prevention - PEMBROKE PINES · The state unveiled a strategy on Wednesday to target $7.5 million in delinquency prevention programs to areas where lots of juvenile offenders live. -- 
The goal is to reach students at risk of getting into trouble with the law before they commit a crime, said Tim Center, head of the delinquency prevention division of the Department of Juvenile Justice. 7/25/02

Tests discover lead at juvenile detention site
Potentially hazardous lead has been found in the ground at a state-run juvenile detention center in Jacksonville, stopping construction of a $1.2 million holding unit over an old dump. 7/23/02

Juvenile detainees' abuse reports spike
Reports to state investigators alleging abuse of incarcerated children nearly doubled statewide over the past four years under Florida's "Tough Love" approach to juvenile justice.6/30/02

Plight of girls in juvenile justice program explored in Daytona Beach paper 5/13/02

Juvenile supervisor accused of sexual contact with girls
TALLAHASSEE — A supervisor at an institution for juvenile offenders has been charged with eight felony counts that involve having sexual contact with girls in his custody. Investigators said three girls at Sawmill Academy reported having sex with Kenneth Keith and that he solicited sex or made plans to have relations with girls on four other occasions.5/02

3 Department of Juvenile Justice employees reinstated with back pay 1/20/02

Teenage girls riot at Okeechobee juvenile prison

Juvenile caseload increase expected
Juvenile probation officers can expect to see caseloads increase as the Department of Juvenile Justice announced layoffs this month, the bulk in the agency's probation services, because of Florida's budget crunch.12/19/01

Juvenile Justice cuts will bring crime increase, advocates fear - Millions of dollars of budget cuts ordered for the state Department of Juvenile Justice will mean an increase in juvenile crime and victims, and more kids sent to adult courts, child-welfare advocates said Tuesday.== In Miami-Dade County, where 32 probation and community corrections staff positions are slated for elimination, caseloads will increase and children will have fewer options to help them get their lives back on track, they charge.==In Broward County there is a fear that any reduction in probation officers would encourage the department to recommend placing more children in lockdown programs.==``It's going to be a disaster,'' said Mindy Solomon, the assistant public defender who supervises juveniles in Broward.

Pink slips go out to 400 workers
Staff trimmed at Department of Juvenile Justice-- Layoff notices are going out to about 400 employees in the Department of Juvenile Justice, the state agency hardest hit by workforce reductions sparked after lawmakers cut $1.3 billion in spending last week.

Controversial drug test won't be used at DJJ
Ever since Gov. Bob Martinez took the first employee drug test, the issue of who and how to check for clean kidneys has been a touchy topic. State workers resent the implication that they might be abusing alcohol or illegal drugs. That's why the state's drug-free workplace law generally allows mandatory testing for employees in "safety sensitive" positions, like law enforcement, but otherwise limits urinalysis to cases of reasonable suspicion.

Juvenile Justice Defends Priorities
TALLAHASSEE - The state Department of Juvenile Justice is scrambling to fend off budget cuts that would delay opening two new detention centers totaling 1,150 beds. ...

Spare juvenile justice from budget offenses
After warning for three years about a rise in juvenile crime that didn't happen, Florida legislators plan to cut programs that have helped to reduce juvenile crime just as the slowing economy makes those programs more important...

Juvenile crime will climb as dollars fall -WEST PALM BEACH -- More than a third of the juvenile delinquents on probation in Palm Beach County will go unsupervised and a successful Treasure Coast boot camp may close if proposed state budget cuts are approved, officials said Monday.

Juvenile detentions face cuts - TALLAHASSEE -- A week before lawmakers begin a special budget-cutting session, Juvenile Justice officials warned Monday they likely can't afford to open 800 beds in soon-to-be-completed residential facilities, including nearly 300 in South Florida.

Teen to sue state agency
Add the state Department of Juvenile Justice to the list of agencies being sued by a Jacksonville teen falsely accused and tried for murder last year.

Juvenile Justice braces for cuts
Leaders to slash state budget
Most government agencies and programs are taking a hit during the session as lawmakers try to balance the state's budget by slashing an estimated $1.3 billion. But no agency will be hit as hard as Juvenile Justice, which could lose as much as $68 million of its $580 million annual budget and up to 846 of its 5,600 employees.

Juvenile Justice managers forced out
'Service First' rules made personnel actions easier
Five longtime employees of the Department of Juvenile Justice were asked to resign Friday, just over two months after a new law went into effect making it easier for them to be fired.9/15

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