House Bill 0395c1
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Florida House of Representatives - 1999 CS/HB 395
By the Committee on Juvenile Justice and Representative
Bullard
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to juvenile justice education
3 and training programs; amending s. 985.315,
4 F.S.; revising the vocational work training
5 programs under the Department of Juvenile
6 Justice; providing for participation of certain
7 juveniles in educational/technical or
8 vocational work-related program 5 hours per
9 day, 5 days per week; requiring the Juvenile
10 Justice Accountability Board to conduct a study
11 of juvenile vocational and work programs;
12 requiring a report; requiring the department to
13 inventory programs in the state; providing an
14 effective date.
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16 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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18 Section 1. Subsections (1), (2), (3), and (4) of
19 section 985.315, Florida Statutes, 1998 Supplement, are
20 amended, and subsections (6) and (7) are added to said
21 section, to read:
22 985.315 Educational/technical and vocational
23 work-related work training programs.--
24 (1)(a) It is the finding of the Legislature that the
25 educational/technical and vocational work-related work
26 programs of the Department of Juvenile Justice are uniquely
27 different from other programs operated or conducted by other
28 departments in that it is essential to the state that these
29 the work programs provide juveniles with useful information
30 and activities that can lead to meaningful employment after
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1 release in order to assist in reducing the return of juveniles
2 to the system.
3 (b) It is further the finding of the Legislature that
4 the mission of a juvenile educational/technical and vocational
5 work-related work program is, in order of priority:
6 1. To provide a joint effort between the department,
7 the juvenile work programs, and educational/technical and
8 other vocational training programs to reinforce relevant
9 education, training, and postrelease job placement, and help
10 reduce recommitment.
11 2. To serve the security goals of the state through
12 the reduction of idleness of juveniles and the provision of an
13 incentive for good behavior in residential commitment
14 facilities.
15 3. To teach youth in juvenile justice programs
16 relevant job skills and the fundamentals of a trade in order
17 to prepare them for placement in the workforce.
18 (c) It is further the finding of the Legislature that
19 a program which duplicates as closely as possible free-work
20 production and service operations in order to aid juveniles in
21 adjustment after release and to prepare juveniles for gainful
22 employment is in the best interest of the state, juveniles,
23 and the general public.
24 (2)(a) The department is strongly encouraged to may
25 require juveniles placed in a high-risk residential,
26 maximum-risk residential, or a serious/habitual offender
27 program to participate in an educational/technical or a
28 vocational work-related work program 5 hours per day, 5 days
29 per week. All policies developed by the department relating
30 to this requirement must be consistent with applicable
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1 federal, state, and local labor laws and standards, including
2 all laws relating to child labor.
3 (b) Nothing in this subsection is intended to restore,
4 in whole or in part, the civil rights of any juvenile. No
5 juvenile compensated under this subsection shall be considered
6 as an employee of the state or the department, nor shall such
7 juvenile come within any other provision of the Workers'
8 Compensation Law.
9 (3) In adopting or modifying master plans for juvenile
10 work programs and educational/technical and vocational
11 training programs, and in the administration of the Department
12 of Juvenile Justice, it shall be the objective of the
13 department to develop:
14 (a) Attitudes favorable to work, the work situation,
15 and a law-abiding life in each juvenile employed in the
16 juvenile work program.
17 (b) Education and training opportunities that are
18 reasonably broad, but which develop specific work skills.
19 (c) Programs that motivate juveniles to use their
20 abilities. Juveniles who do not adjust to these programs shall
21 be reassigned.
22 (d) Education and training programs that will be of
23 mutual benefit to all governmental jurisdictions of the state
24 by reducing the costs of government to the taxpayers and which
25 integrate all instructional programs into a unified curriculum
26 suitable for all juveniles, but taking account of the
27 different abilities of each juvenile.
28 (e) A logical sequence of educational/technical or
29 vocational training, employment by the juvenile vocational
30 work programs, and postrelease job placement for juveniles
31 participating in juvenile work programs.
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Florida House of Representatives - 1999 CS/HB 395
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1 (4)(a) The Department of Juvenile Justice shall
2 establish guidelines for the operation of juvenile
3 educational/technical and vocational work-related work
4 programs, which shall include the following procedures:
5 1. Participation in the educational/technical and
6 vocational work-related programs shall be on a 5-day-per-week,
7 5-hour-per-day basis.
8 2.1. The education, training, work experience,
9 emotional and mental abilities, and physical capabilities of
10 the juvenile and the duration of the term of placement imposed
11 on the juvenile are to be analyzed before assignment of the
12 juvenile inmate into the various processes best suited for
13 educational/technical or vocational training.
14 3.2. When feasible, the department shall attempt to
15 obtain education or training credit for a juvenile seeking
16 apprenticeship status or a high school diploma or its
17 equivalent.
18 4.3. The juvenile may begin in a general education and
19 work skills program and progress to a specific work skills
20 training program, depending upon the ability, desire, and
21 education and work record of the juvenile.
22 5.4. Modernization and upgrading of equipment and
23 facilities should include greater automation and improved
24 production techniques to expose juveniles to the latest
25 technological procedures to facilitate their adjustment to
26 real work situations.
27 (b) Evaluations of juvenile educational/technical and
28 vocational work-related work programs shall be conducted
29 according to the following guidelines:
30 1. Systematic evaluations and quality assurance
31 monitoring shall be implemented, in accordance with ss.
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1 985.401(4) and 985.412(1), to determine whether the juvenile
2 vocational work programs are related to successful postrelease
3 adjustments.
4 2. Operations and policies of the work programs shall
5 be reevaluated to determine if they are consistent with their
6 primary objectives.
7 (c) The department shall seek the advice of private
8 labor and management to:
9 1. Assist its work programs in the development of
10 statewide policies aimed at innovation and organizational
11 change.
12 2. Obtain technical and practical assistance,
13 information, and guidance.
14 3. Encourage the cooperation and involvement of the
15 private sector.
16 4. Assist in the placement of youth into meaningful
17 jobs upon release from the residential program.
18 (d) The department and providers are strongly
19 encouraged to work in partnership with local businesses and
20 trade groups in the development and operation of
21 educational/technical and vocational programs.
22 (6) The Juvenile Justice Accountability Board shall
23 conduct a study regarding the types of effective juvenile
24 vocational and work programs in operation across the country,
25 relevant research on what makes programs effective, the key
26 ingredients of effective juvenile vocational and work
27 programs, and the status of such programs in juvenile
28 facilities across the state. The board shall report their
29 findings and make recommendations on how to expand and improve
30 these programs no later than January 31, 2000, to the Speaker
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1 of the House of Representatives, the President of the Senate,
2 and the Secretary of Juvenile Justice.
3 (7) The department, working with providers, shall
4 inventory juvenile vocational and work training programs in
5 use in commitment programs across the state. The inventory
6 shall list the commitment program, the type of vocational or
7 work program offered, the relevant job skills provided, and
8 which programs work with the trades industry to place youth in
9 jobs upon release.
10 Section 2. This act shall take effect October 1, 1999.
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