The Florida Senate

“Addictions receiving facility” means a substance abuse service provider as defined in chapter 397.

“Adjudicatory hearing” means a hearing for the court to determine whether or not the facts support the allegations stated in the petition, as is provided for under s. 985.35 in delinquency cases.

“Adult” means any natural person other than a child.

“Arbitration” means a process whereby a neutral third person or panel, called an arbitrator or an arbitration panel, considers the facts and arguments presented by the parties and renders a decision which may be binding or nonbinding.

“Authorized agent” or “designee” of the department means a person or agency assigned or designated by the department or the Department of Children and Family Services, as appropriate, to perform duties or exercise powers under this chapter and includes contract providers and their employees for purposes of providing services to and managing cases of children in need of services and families in need of services.

“Child” or “juvenile” or “youth” means any unmarried person under the age of 18 who has not been emancipated by order of the court and who has been found or alleged to be dependent, in need of services, or from a family in need of services; or any married or unmarried person who is charged with a violation of law occurring prior to the time that person reached the age of 18 years.

“Child in need of services” means a child for whom there is no pending investigation into an allegation or suspicion of abuse, neglect, or abandonment; no pending referral alleging the child is delinquent; or no current supervision by the department or the Department of Children and Family Services for an adjudication of dependency or delinquency. The child must also, under this chapter, be found by the court:

“Child who has been found to have committed a delinquent act” means a child who, under this chapter, is found by a court to have committed a violation of law or to be in direct or indirect contempt of court, except that this definition does not include an act constituting contempt of court arising out of a dependency proceeding or a proceeding concerning a child or family in need of services.

“Child support” means a court-ordered obligation, enforced under chapter 61 and ss. 409.2551-409.2597, for monetary support for the care, maintenance, training, and education of a child.

“Circuit” means any of the 20 judicial circuits as set forth in s. 26.021.

“Comprehensive assessment” or “assessment” means the gathering of information for the evaluation of a juvenile offender’s or a child’s physical, psychological, educational, vocational, and social condition and family environment as they relate to the child’s need for rehabilitative and treatment services, including substance abuse treatment services, mental health services, developmental services, literacy services, medical services, family services, and other specialized services, as appropriate.

“Conditional release” means the care, treatment, help, and supervision provided to a juvenile released from a residential commitment program which is intended to promote rehabilitation and prevent recidivism. The purpose of conditional release is to protect the public, reduce recidivism, increase responsible productive behavior, and provide for a successful transition of the youth from the department to the family. Conditional release includes, but is not limited to, nonresidential community-based programs.

“Court,” unless otherwise expressly stated, means the circuit court assigned to exercise jurisdiction under this chapter.

“Day treatment” means a nonresidential, community-based program designed to provide therapeutic intervention to youth who are placed on probation or conditional release or are committed to the minimum-risk nonresidential level. A day treatment program may provide educational and vocational services and shall provide case management services; individual, group, and family counseling; training designed to address delinquency risk factors; and monitoring of a youth’s compliance with, and facilitation of a youth’s completion of, sanctions if ordered by the court. Program types may include, but are not limited to, career programs, marine programs, juvenile justice alternative schools, training and rehabilitation programs, and gender-specific programs.

“Department” means the Department of Juvenile Justice.

“Designated facility” or “designated treatment facility” means any facility designated by the department to provide treatment to juvenile offenders.

“Detention care” means the temporary care of a child in secure, nonsecure, or home detention, pending a court adjudication or disposition or execution of a court order. There are three types of detention care, as follows:

“Detention center or facility” means a facility used pending court adjudication or disposition or execution of court order for the temporary care of a child alleged or found to have committed a violation of law. A detention center or facility may provide secure or nonsecure custody. A facility used for the commitment of adjudicated delinquents shall not be considered a detention center or facility.

“Detention hearing” means a hearing for the court to determine if a child should be placed in temporary custody, as provided for under part V in delinquency cases.

“Disposition hearing” means a hearing in which the court determines the most appropriate dispositional services in the least restrictive available setting provided for under part VII, in delinquency cases.

“Family” means a collective of persons, consisting of a child and a parent, guardian, adult custodian, or adult relative, in which:

“Family in need of services” means a family that has a child for whom there is no pending investigation into an allegation of abuse, neglect, or abandonment or no current supervision by the department or the Department of Children and Family Services for an adjudication of dependency or delinquency. The child must also have been referred to a law enforcement agency or the department for:

“Foster care” means care provided a child in a foster family or boarding home, group home, agency boarding home, child care institution, or any combination thereof.

“Habitually truant” means that:

“Halfway house” means a community-based residential program for 10 or more committed delinquents at the moderate-risk commitment level which is operated or contracted by the department.

“Intake” means the initial acceptance and screening by the department of a complaint or a law enforcement report or probable cause affidavit of delinquency, family in need of services, or child in need of services to determine the recommendation to be taken in the best interests of the child, the family, and the community. The emphasis of intake is on diversion and the least restrictive available services. Consequently, intake includes such alternatives as:

“Judge” means the circuit judge exercising jurisdiction pursuant to this chapter.

“Juvenile justice continuum” includes, but is not limited to, delinquency prevention programs and services designed for the purpose of preventing or reducing delinquent acts, including criminal activity by criminal gangs, and juvenile arrests, as well as programs and services targeted at children who have committed delinquent acts, and children who have previously been committed to residential treatment programs for delinquents. The term includes children-in-need-of-services and families-in-need-of-services programs; conditional release; substance abuse and mental health programs; educational and career programs; recreational programs; community services programs; community service work programs; and alternative dispute resolution programs serving children at risk of delinquency and their families, whether offered or delivered by state or local governmental entities, public or private for-profit or not-for-profit organizations, or religious or charitable organizations.

“Juvenile probation officer” means the authorized agent of the department who performs the intake, case management, or supervision functions.

“Legal custody or guardian” means a legal status created by court order or letter of guardianship which vests in a custodian of the person or guardian, whether an agency or an individual, the right to have physical custody of the child and the right and duty to protect, train, and discipline the child and to provide him or her with food, shelter, education, and ordinary medical, dental, psychiatric, and psychological care.

“Licensed child-caring agency” means a person, society, association, or agency licensed by the Department of Children and Family Services to care for, receive, and board children.

“Licensed health care professional” means a physician licensed under chapter 458, an osteopathic physician licensed under chapter 459, a nurse licensed under part I of chapter 464, a physician assistant licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459, or a dentist licensed under chapter 466.

“Likely to injure oneself” means that, as evidenced by violent or other actively self-destructive behavior, it is more likely than not that within a 24-hour period the child will attempt to commit suicide or inflict serious bodily harm on himself or herself.

“Likely to injure others” means that it is more likely than not that within a 24-hour period the child will inflict serious and unjustified bodily harm on another person.

“Mediation” means a process whereby a neutral third person called a mediator acts to encourage and facilitate the resolution of a dispute between two or more parties. It is an informal and nonadversarial process with the objective of helping the disputing parties reach a mutually acceptable and voluntary agreement. In mediation, decisionmaking authority rests with the parties. The role of the mediator includes, but is not limited to, assisting the parties in identifying issues, fostering joint problem solving, and exploring settlement alternatives.

“Necessary medical treatment” means care which is necessary within a reasonable degree of medical certainty to prevent the deterioration of a child’s condition or to alleviate immediate pain of a child.

“Next of kin” means an adult relative of a child who is the child’s brother, sister, grandparent, aunt, uncle, or first cousin.

“Ordinary medical care” means medical procedures that are administered or performed on a routine basis and include, but are not limited to, inoculations, physical examinations, remedial treatment for minor illnesses and injuries, preventive services, medication management, chronic disease detection and treatment, and other medical procedures that are administered or performed on a routine basis and do not involve hospitalization, surgery, the use of general anesthesia, or the provision of psychotropic medications.

“Parent” means a woman who gives birth to a child and a man whose consent to the adoption of the child would be required under s. 63.062(1). If a child has been legally adopted, the term “parent” means the adoptive mother or father of the child. The term does not include an individual whose parental relationship to the child has been legally terminated, or an alleged or prospective parent, unless the parental status falls within the terms of either s. 39.503(1) or s. 63.062(1).

“Preliminary screening” means the gathering of preliminary information to be used in determining a child’s need for further evaluation or assessment or for referral for other substance abuse services through means such as psychosocial interviews; urine and breathalyzer screenings; and reviews of available educational, delinquency, and dependency records of the child.

“Preventive services” means social services and other supportive and rehabilitative services provided to the parent of the child, the legal guardian of the child, or the custodian of the child and to the child for the purpose of averting the removal of the child from the home or disruption of a family which will or could result in the placement of a child in foster care. Social services and other supportive and rehabilitative services shall promote the child’s need for a safe, continuous, stable living environment and shall promote family autonomy and shall strengthen family life as the first priority whenever possible.

“Probation” means the legal status of probation created by law and court order in cases involving a child who has been found to have committed a delinquent act. Probation is an individualized program in which the freedom of the child is limited and the child is restricted to noninstitutional quarters or restricted to the child’s home in lieu of commitment to the custody of the department. Youth on probation may be assessed and classified for placement in day-treatment probation programs designed for youth who represent a minimum risk to themselves and public safety and do not require placement and services in a residential setting.

“Relative” means a grandparent, great-grandparent, sibling, first cousin, aunt, uncle, great-aunt, great-uncle, niece, or nephew, whether related by the whole or half blood, by affinity, or by adoption. The term does not include a stepparent.

“Restrictiveness level” means the level of programming and security provided by programs that service the supervision, custody, care, and treatment needs of committed children. Sections 985.601(10) and 985.721 apply to children placed in programs at any residential commitment level. The restrictiveness levels of commitment are as follows:

“Respite” means a placement that is available for the care, custody, and placement of a youth charged with domestic violence as an alternative to secure detention or for placement of a youth when a shelter bed for a child in need of services or a family in need of services is unavailable.

“Secure detention center or facility” means a physically restricting facility for the temporary care of children, pending adjudication, disposition, or placement.

“Serious or habitual juvenile offender program” means the program established in s. 985.47.

“Shelter” means a place for the temporary care of a child who is alleged to be or who has been found to be delinquent.

“Shelter hearing” means a hearing provided for under s. 984.14 in family-in-need-of-services cases or child-in-need-of-services cases.

“Staff-secure shelter” means a facility in which a child is supervised 24 hours a day by staff members who are awake while on duty. The facility is for the temporary care and assessment of a child who has been found to be dependent, who has violated a court order and been found in contempt of court, or whom the Department of Children and Family Services is unable to properly assess or place for assistance within the continuum of services provided for dependent children.

“Substance abuse” means using, without medical reason, any psychoactive or mood-altering drug, including alcohol, in such a manner as to induce impairment resulting in dysfunctional social behavior.

“Taken into custody” means the status of a child immediately when temporary physical control over the child is attained by a person authorized by law, pending the child’s release, detention, placement, or other disposition as authorized by law.

“Temporary legal custody” means the relationship that a juvenile court creates between a child and an adult relative of the child, adult nonrelative approved by the court, or other person until a more permanent arrangement is ordered. Temporary legal custody confers upon the custodian the right to have temporary physical custody of the child and the right and duty to protect, train, and discipline the child and to provide the child with food, shelter, and education, and ordinary medical, dental, psychiatric, and psychological care, unless these rights and duties are otherwise enlarged or limited by the court order establishing the temporary legal custody relationship.

“Temporary release” means the terms and conditions under which a child is temporarily released from a residential commitment facility or allowed home visits. If the temporary release is from a moderate-risk residential facility, a high-risk residential facility, or a maximum-risk residential facility, the terms and conditions of the temporary release must be approved by the child, the court, and the facility. The term includes periods during which the child is supervised pursuant to a conditional release program or a period during which the child is supervised by a juvenile probation officer or other nonresidential staff of the department or staff employed by an entity under contract with the department.

“Training school” means one of the following facilities: the Arthur G. Dozier School or the Eckerd Youth Development Center.

“Violation of law” or “delinquent act” means a violation of any law of this state, the United States, or any other state which is a misdemeanor or a felony or a violation of a county or municipal ordinance which would be punishable by incarceration if the violation were committed by an adult.

“Waiver hearing” means a hearing provided for under s. 985.556(4).