The Florida Senate

985.401  Juvenile Justice Accountability Board.--

(1)  The Juvenile Justice Accountability Board shall be composed of seven members appointed by the Governor. Members of the board shall have direct experience and a strong interest in juvenile justice issues.

(2)(a)  A full term shall be 3 years, and the term for each seat on the board commences on October 1 and expires on September 30, without regard to the date of appointment. Each appointing authority shall appoint a member to fill one of the three vacancies that occurs with the expiration of terms on September 30 of each year. A member is not eligible for appointment to more than two full, consecutive terms. A vacancy on the board shall be filled within 60 days after the date on which the vacancy occurs. The Governor shall make the appointment to fill a vacancy that occurs for any reason other than the expiration of a term, and the appointment shall be for the remainder of the unexpired term. For the purpose of implementing the provisions of this paragraph, vacancies that occur before October 1, 1999, shall not be filled until October 1, 1999, and the Governor shall make only one appointment to fill the vacancies that result from expiration of terms on September 30, 1999.

(b)  The composition of the board must be broadly reflective of the public and must include minorities and women. The term "minorities" as used in this paragraph means a member of a socially or economically disadvantaged group and includes African Americans, Hispanics, and American Indians.

(c)  The board shall annually select a chairperson from among its members.

(d)  The board shall meet at least once each quarter. A member may not authorize a designee to attend a meeting of the board in place of the member. A member who fails to attend two consecutive regularly scheduled meetings of the board, unless the member is excused by the chairperson, shall be deemed to have abandoned the position, and the position shall be declared vacant by the board.

(3)(a)  The board members shall serve without compensation, but are entitled to reimbursement for per diem and travel expenses pursuant to s. 112.061.

(b)  Effective July 1, 1999, the board and its staff are assigned to the Department of Juvenile Justice. For the purpose of implementing this paragraph, all of the duties and functions, records, personnel, property, and unexpended balances of appropriations, allocations, or other funds of the board are transferred to the Department of Juvenile Justice. The transfer of segregated funds shall be made in such a manner that the relation between program and revenue source, as provided in law, is maintained.

(4)(a)  The board shall establish and operate a comprehensive system to annually measure and report program outcomes and effectiveness for each program operated by the Department of Juvenile Justice or operated by a provider under contract with the department. The system shall include a standard methodology for interpreting the board's outcome evaluation reports, using, where appropriate, the performance-based program budgeting measures approved by the Legislature. The methodology must include:

1.  Common terminology and operational definitions for measuring the performance of system administration, program administration, program outputs, and client outcomes.

2.  Program outputs for each group of programs within each level of the juvenile justice continuum and specific program outputs for each program or program type.

3.  Specification of desired client outcomes and methods by which to measure client outcomes for each program operated by the department or by a provider under contract with the department.

4.  Recommended annual minimum thresholds of satisfactory performance for client outcomes and program outputs.

For the purposes of this section, the term "program" or "program type" means an individual state-operated or contracted facility, site, or service delivered to at-risk or delinquent youth as prescribed in a contract, program description, or program services manual; and the term "program group" means a collection of programs or program types with sufficient similarity of function, services, and clientele to permit appropriate comparisons among programs within the program group.

(b)  In developing the standard methodology, the board shall consult with the department, the Office of Economic and Demographic Research, contract service providers, and other interested parties. It is the intent of the Legislature that this effort result in consensus recommendations, and, to the greatest extent possible, integrate the goals and legislatively approved measures of performance-based program budgeting provided in chapter 94-249, Laws of Florida, the quality assurance program provided in s. 985.412, and the cost-effectiveness model provided in s. 985.404(11). The board shall notify the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability of any meetings to develop the methodology.

(c)  The board shall annually submit its outcome evaluation report to the Secretary of the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Governor, and the Legislature by February 15, which must describe:

1.  The methodology for interpreting outcome evaluations, including common terminology and operational definitions.

2.  The recommended minimum thresholds of satisfactory performance for client outcomes and program outputs applicable to the year for which the data are reported.

3.  The actual client outcomes and program outputs achieved by each program operated by the department or by a provider under contract with the department, compared with the recommended minimum thresholds of satisfactory performance for client outcomes and program outputs for the year under review. The report shall group programs or program types with similarity of function and services and make appropriate comparisons between programs within the program group.

(d)  The board shall use its evaluation research to make advisory recommendations to the Legislature, the Governor, and the department concerning the effectiveness and future funding priorities of juvenile justice programs.

(e)  The board shall annually review and revise the methodology as necessary to ensure the continuing improvement and validity of the evaluation process.

(5)  The board shall:

(a)  Review and recommend programmatic and fiscal policies governing the operation of programs, services, and facilities for which the Department of Juvenile Justice is responsible.

(b)  Monitor the development and implementation of long-range juvenile justice policies, including prevention, early intervention, diversion, adjudication, and commitment.

(c)  Monitor all activities of the executive and judicial branch and their effectiveness in implementing policies pursuant to this chapter.

(d)  Advise the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Governor, and the department on matters relating to this chapter.

(e)  In coordination with the Department of Juvenile Justice, serve as a clearinghouse to provide information and assistance to the district juvenile justice boards and county juvenile justice councils.

(f)  Hold public hearings and inform the public of activities of the board and of the Department of Juvenile Justice, as appropriate.

(g)  Monitor the delivery and use of services, programs, or facilities operated, funded, regulated, or licensed by the Department of Juvenile Justice for juvenile offenders or alleged juvenile offenders, and for prevention, diversion, or early intervention of delinquency, and to develop programs to educate the citizenry about such services, programs, and facilities and about the need and procedure for siting new facilities.

(h)  Conduct such other activities as the board may determine are necessary and appropriate to monitor the effectiveness of the delivery of juvenile justice programs and services under this chapter.

(i)  Submit an annual report to the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Governor, and the secretary of the department not later than February 15 of each calendar year, summarizing the activities and reports of the board for the preceding year, and any recommendations of the board for the following year.

(6)  The board shall study the extent and nature of education programs for juvenile offenders committed by the court to the Department of Juvenile Justice and for juvenile offenders under court supervision in the community. The board shall utilize a subcommittee of interested board members and may request other interested persons to participate and act as a juvenile justice education task force for the study. The task force shall address, at a minimum, the following issues:

(a)  The impact of education services on students in commitment programs;

(b)  The barriers impeding the timely transfer of education records;

(c)  The development and implementation of vocational programming in commitment programs;

(d)  The implementation of provisions for earning high school credits regardless of varied lengths of stay; and

(e)  The accountability of school districts and providers regarding the expenditure of education funds.

(7)  The board shall have access to all records, files, and reports that are material to its duties and that are in the custody of a school board, a law enforcement agency, a state attorney, a public defender, the court, the Department of Children and Family Services, and the department.

(8)  Unless reenacted by the Legislature, this section expires June 30, 2001.

History.--s. 4, ch. 94-209; s. 20, ch. 95-267; s. 1, ch. 96-398; s. 1, ch. 96-422; s. 157, ch. 97-101; s. 61, ch. 97-238; s. 12, ch. 98-136; s. 24, ch. 98-207; s. 138, ch. 99-3; s. 51, ch. 99-284; s. 23, ch. 99-333.

Note.--Former s. 39.003.