Senate Bill sb1668

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 1668

    By Senator Dawson





    29-1041-06

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to juvenile delinquents;

  3         amending s. 985.21, F.S.; requiring a juvenile

  4         probation officer to determine the country of

  5         citizenship of each child referred to the

  6         Department of Juvenile Justice; requiring the

  7         juvenile probation officer to report the

  8         information to the department and the United

  9         States Immigration and Customs Enforcement

10         Agency; requiring the department to develop a

11         centralized, automated database to collect

12         information on the country of citizenship for

13         children referred to the department; directing

14         the department to make the information

15         available to certain federal, state, and local

16         agencies; requiring the department to adopt

17         rules; amending s. 985.231, F.S.; requiring

18         that a juvenile court under specified

19         circumstances notify the United States

20         Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency of

21         the adjudication of a child, order that the

22         child be returned to his or her country of

23         origin, and order the department to transfer

24         the physical custody of the child to the United

25         States Immigration and Customs Enforcement

26         Agency for the appropriate processing to remove

27         the child from this country; providing an

28         effective date.

29  

30  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

31  

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 1         Section 1.  Subsection (1) of section 985.21, Florida

 2  Statutes, is amended to read:

 3         985.21  Intake and case management.--

 4         (1)(a)  During the intake process, the juvenile

 5  probation officer shall screen each child or shall cause each

 6  child to be screened in order to determine:

 7         1.  Appropriateness for release, referral to a

 8  diversionary program including, but not limited to, a

 9  teen-court program, referral for community arbitration, or

10  referral to some other program or agency for the purpose of

11  nonofficial or nonjudicial handling.

12         2.  The presence of medical, psychiatric,

13  psychological, substance abuse, educational, or vocational

14  problems, or other conditions that may have caused the child

15  to come to the attention of law enforcement or the Department

16  of Juvenile Justice. The child shall also be screened to

17  determine whether the child poses a danger to himself or

18  herself or others in the community.  The results of this

19  screening shall be made available to the court and to court

20  officers. In cases where such conditions are identified, and a

21  nonjudicial handling of the case is chosen, the juvenile

22  probation officer shall attempt to refer the child to a

23  program or agency, together with all available and relevant

24  assessment information concerning the child's precipitating

25  condition.

26         3.a.  The country of citizenship of the child.

27  Notwithstanding any other law, the juvenile probation officer

28  shall report to the department and the United States

29  Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency a juvenile who is

30  the subject of a petition alleging that he or she committed an

31  act that would be a crime if committed by an adult and who has

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 1668
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 1  also been found to be, or is suspected of being, in the United

 2  States illegally. The report must include the nature of the

 3  offense the child is alleged to have committed.

 4         b.  The Department of Juvenile Justice shall develop a

 5  centralized, automated intake and screening database to

 6  collect information concerning the country of citizenship for

 7  children referred to the department in order to facilitate the

 8  exchange of information pursuant to the intent and purpose of

 9  this chapter. The department shall establish methods and

10  parameters by which citizenship information and data are

11  collected from the United States Immigration and Customs

12  Enforcement Agency, the Department of Law Enforcement, law

13  enforcement agencies in this state, and the state court

14  system. Information developed in or through the use of the

15  database shall be made available to federal, state, and local

16  law enforcement agencies and prosecutors and courts in a

17  manner defined by the department and as allowed by state or

18  federal law or rule. The department shall adopt rules to

19  administer the provisions of this sub-subparagraph.

20         (b)3.  The Department of Juvenile Justice shall develop

21  an intake and a case management system whereby a child brought

22  into intake is assigned a juvenile probation officer if the

23  child was not released, referred to a diversionary program,

24  referred for community arbitration, or referred to some other

25  program or agency for the purpose of nonofficial or

26  nonjudicial handling, and shall make every reasonable effort

27  to provide case management services for the child; provided,

28  however, that case management for children committed to

29  residential programs may be transferred as provided in s.

30  985.316.

31  

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 1         (c)4.  In addition to duties specified in other

 2  sections and through departmental rules, the assigned juvenile

 3  probation officer shall be responsible for the following:

 4         1.a.  Ensuring that a risk assessment instrument

 5  establishing the child's eligibility for detention has been

 6  accurately completed and that the appropriate recommendation

 7  was made to the court.

 8         2.b.  Inquiring as to whether the child understands his

 9  or her rights to counsel and against self-incrimination.

10         3.c.  Performing the preliminary screening and making

11  referrals for comprehensive assessment regarding the child's

12  need for substance abuse treatment services, mental health

13  services, retardation services, literacy services, or other

14  educational or treatment services.

15         4.d.  Coordinating the multidisciplinary assessment

16  when required, which includes the classification and placement

17  process that determines the child's priority needs, risk

18  classification, and treatment plan. When sufficient evidence

19  exists to warrant a comprehensive assessment and the child

20  fails to voluntarily participate in the assessment efforts, it

21  is the responsibility of the juvenile probation officer to

22  inform the court of the need for the assessment and the

23  refusal of the child to participate in such assessment. This

24  assessment, classification, and placement process shall

25  develop into the predisposition report.

26         5.e.  Making recommendations for services and

27  facilitating the delivery of those services to the child,

28  including any mental health services, educational services,

29  family counseling services, family assistance services, and

30  substance abuse services. The juvenile probation officer shall

31  serve as the primary case manager for the purpose of managing,

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 1  coordinating, and monitoring the services provided to the

 2  child. Each program administrator within the Department of

 3  Children and Family Services shall cooperate with the primary

 4  case manager in carrying out the duties and responsibilities

 5  described in this section.

 6  

 7  The Department of Juvenile Justice shall annually advise the

 8  Legislature and the Executive Office of the Governor of the

 9  resources needed in order for the intake and case management

10  system to maintain a staff-to-client ratio that is consistent

11  with accepted standards and allows the necessary supervision

12  and services for each child. The intake process and case

13  management system shall provide a comprehensive approach to

14  assessing the child's needs, relative risks, and most

15  appropriate handling, and shall be based on an individualized

16  treatment plan.

17         (d)(b)  The intake and case management system shall

18  facilitate consistency in the recommended placement of each

19  child, and in the assessment, classification, and placement

20  process, with the following purposes:

21         1.  An individualized, multidisciplinary assessment

22  process that identifies the priority needs of each individual

23  child for rehabilitation and treatment and identifies any

24  needs of the child's parents or guardians for services that

25  would enhance their ability to provide adequate support,

26  guidance, and supervision for the child. This process shall

27  begin with the detention risk assessment instrument and

28  decision, shall include the intake preliminary screening and

29  comprehensive assessment for substance abuse treatment

30  services, mental health services, retardation services,

31  literacy services, and other educational and treatment

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 1  services as components, additional assessment of the child's

 2  treatment needs, and classification regarding the child's

 3  risks to the community and, for a serious or habitual

 4  delinquent child, shall include the assessment for placement

 5  in a serious or habitual delinquent children program pursuant

 6  to s. 985.31. The completed multidisciplinary assessment

 7  process shall result in the predisposition report.

 8         2.  A classification system that assigns a relative

 9  risk to the child and the community based upon assessments

10  including the detention risk assessment results when available

11  to classify the child's risk as it relates to placement and

12  supervision alternatives.

13         3.  An admissions process that facilitates for each

14  child the utilization of the treatment plan and setting most

15  appropriate to meet the child's programmatic needs and provide

16  the minimum program security needed to ensure public safety.

17         Section 2.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section

18  985.231, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

19         985.231  Powers of disposition in delinquency cases.--

20         (1)(a)  The court that has jurisdiction of an

21  adjudicated delinquent child may, by an order stating the

22  facts upon which a determination of a sanction and

23  rehabilitative program was made at the disposition hearing:

24         1.  Place the child in a probation program or a

25  postcommitment probation program under the supervision of an

26  authorized agent of the department or of any other person or

27  agency specifically authorized and appointed by the court,

28  whether in the child's own home, in the home of a relative of

29  the child, or in some other suitable place under such

30  reasonable conditions as the court may direct. A probation

31  program for an adjudicated delinquent child must include a

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 1  penalty component such as restitution in money or in kind,

 2  community service, a curfew, revocation or suspension of the

 3  driver's license of the child, or other nonresidential

 4  punishment appropriate to the offense and must also include a

 5  rehabilitative program component such as a requirement of

 6  participation in substance abuse treatment or in school or

 7  other educational program. If the child is attending or is

 8  eligible to attend public school and the court finds that the

 9  victim or a sibling of the victim in the case is attending or

10  may attend the same school as the child, the court placement

11  order shall include a finding pursuant to the proceedings

12  described in s. 985.23(1)(d). Upon the recommendation of the

13  department at the time of disposition, or subsequent to

14  disposition pursuant to the filing of a petition alleging a

15  violation of the child's conditions of postcommitment

16  probation, the court may order the child to submit to random

17  testing for the purpose of detecting and monitoring the use of

18  alcohol or controlled substances.

19         a.  A classification scale for levels of supervision

20  shall be provided by the department, taking into account the

21  child's needs and risks relative to probation supervision

22  requirements to reasonably ensure the public safety. Probation

23  programs for children shall be supervised by the department or

24  by any other person or agency specifically authorized by the

25  court. These programs must include, but are not limited to,

26  structured or restricted activities as described in this

27  subparagraph, and shall be designed to encourage the child

28  toward acceptable and functional social behavior. If

29  supervision or a program of community service is ordered by

30  the court, the duration of such supervision or program must be

31  consistent with any treatment and rehabilitation needs

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 1  identified for the child and may not exceed the term for which

 2  sentence could be imposed if the child were committed for the

 3  offense, except that the duration of such supervision or

 4  program for an offense that is a misdemeanor of the second

 5  degree, or is equivalent to a misdemeanor of the second

 6  degree, may be for a period not to exceed 6 months. When

 7  restitution is ordered by the court, the amount of restitution

 8  may not exceed an amount the child and the parent or guardian

 9  could reasonably be expected to pay or make. A child who

10  participates in any work program under this part is considered

11  an employee of the state for purposes of liability, unless

12  otherwise provided by law.

13         b.  The court may conduct judicial review hearings for

14  a child placed on probation for the purpose of fostering

15  accountability to the judge and compliance with other

16  requirements, such as restitution and community service. The

17  court may allow early termination of probation for a child who

18  has substantially complied with the terms and conditions of

19  probation.

20         c.  If the conditions of the probation program or the

21  postcommitment probation program are violated, the department

22  or the state attorney may bring the child before the court on

23  a petition alleging a violation of the program. Any child who

24  violates the conditions of probation or postcommitment

25  probation must be brought before the court if sanctions are

26  sought. A child taken into custody under s. 985.207 for

27  violating the conditions of probation or postcommitment

28  probation shall be held in a consequence unit if such a unit

29  is available. The child shall be afforded a hearing within 24

30  hours after being taken into custody to determine the

31  existence of probable cause that the child violated the

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 1  conditions of probation or postcommitment probation. A

 2  consequence unit is a secure facility specifically designated

 3  by the department for children who are taken into custody

 4  under s. 985.207 for violating probation or postcommitment

 5  probation, or who have been found by the court to have

 6  violated the conditions of probation or postcommitment

 7  probation. If the violation involves a new charge of

 8  delinquency, the child may be detained under s. 985.215 in a

 9  facility other than a consequence unit. If the child is not

10  eligible for detention for the new charge of delinquency, the

11  child may be held in the consequence unit pending a hearing

12  and is subject to the time limitations specified in s.

13  985.215. If the child denies violating the conditions of

14  probation or postcommitment probation, the court shall appoint

15  counsel to represent the child at the child's request. Upon

16  the child's admission, or if the court finds after a hearing

17  that the child has violated the conditions of probation or

18  postcommitment probation, the court shall enter an order

19  revoking, modifying, or continuing probation or postcommitment

20  probation. In each such case, the court shall enter a new

21  disposition order and, in addition to the sanctions set forth

22  in this paragraph, may impose any sanction the court could

23  have imposed at the original disposition hearing. If the child

24  is found to have violated the conditions of probation or

25  postcommitment probation, the court may:

26         (I)  Place the child in a consequence unit in that

27  judicial circuit, if available, for up to 5 days for a first

28  violation, and up to 15 days for a second or subsequent

29  violation.

30  

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 1         (II)  Place the child on home detention with electronic

 2  monitoring. However, this sanction may be used only if a

 3  residential consequence unit is not available.

 4         (III)  Modify or continue the child's probation program

 5  or postcommitment probation program.

 6         (IV)  Revoke probation or postcommitment probation and

 7  commit the child to the department.

 8         d.  Notwithstanding s. 743.07 and paragraph (d), and

 9  except as provided in s. 985.31, the term of any order placing

10  a child in a probation program must be until the child's 19th

11  birthday unless he or she is released by the court, on the

12  motion of an interested party or on its own motion.

13         2.  Commit the child to a licensed child-caring agency

14  willing to receive the child, but the court may not commit the

15  child to a jail or to a facility used primarily as a detention

16  center or facility or shelter.

17         3.  Commit the child to the department at a

18  restrictiveness level defined in s. 985.03. Such commitment

19  must be for the purpose of exercising active control over the

20  child, including, but not limited to, custody, care, training,

21  urine monitoring, and treatment of the child and release of

22  the child from residential commitment into the community in a

23  postcommitment nonresidential conditional release program. If

24  the child is eligible to attend public school following

25  commitment and the court finds that the victim or a sibling of

26  the victim in the case is or may be attending the same school

27  as the child, the commitment order shall include a finding

28  pursuant to the proceedings described in s. 985.23(1)(d). If

29  the child is not successful in the conditional release

30  program, the department may use the transfer procedure under

31  s. 985.404. Notwithstanding s. 743.07 and paragraph (d), and

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 1  except as provided in s. 985.31, the term of the commitment

 2  must be until the child is discharged by the department or

 3  until he or she reaches the age of 21.

 4         4.  Revoke or suspend the driver's license of the

 5  child.

 6         5.  Require the child and, if the court finds it

 7  appropriate, the child's parent or guardian together with the

 8  child, to render community service in a public service

 9  program.

10         6.  As part of the probation program to be implemented

11  by the department, or, in the case of a committed child, as

12  part of the community-based sanctions ordered by the court at

13  the disposition hearing or before the child's release from

14  commitment, order the child to make restitution in money,

15  through a promissory note cosigned by the child's parent or

16  guardian, or in kind for any damage or loss caused by the

17  child's offense in a reasonable amount or manner to be

18  determined by the court. The clerk of the circuit court shall

19  be the receiving and dispensing agent. In such case, the court

20  shall order the child or the child's parent or guardian to pay

21  to the office of the clerk of the circuit court an amount not

22  to exceed the actual cost incurred by the clerk as a result of

23  receiving and dispensing restitution payments. The clerk shall

24  notify the court if restitution is not made, and the court

25  shall take any further action that is necessary against the

26  child or the child's parent or guardian. A finding by the

27  court, after a hearing, that the parent or guardian has made

28  diligent and good faith efforts to prevent the child from

29  engaging in delinquent acts absolves the parent or guardian of

30  liability for restitution under this subparagraph.

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 1         7.  Order the child and, if the court finds it

 2  appropriate, the child's parent or guardian together with the

 3  child, to participate in a community work project, either as

 4  an alternative to monetary restitution or as part of the

 5  rehabilitative or probation program.

 6         8.  Commit the child to the department for placement in

 7  a program or facility for serious or habitual juvenile

 8  offenders in accordance with s. 985.31. Any commitment of a

 9  child to a program or facility for serious or habitual

10  juvenile offenders must be for an indeterminate period of

11  time, but the time may not exceed the maximum term of

12  imprisonment that an adult may serve for the same offense. The

13  court may retain jurisdiction over such child until the child

14  reaches the age of 21, specifically for the purpose of the

15  child completing the program.

16         9.  In addition to the sanctions imposed on the child,

17  order the parent or guardian of the child to perform community

18  service if the court finds that the parent or guardian did not

19  make a diligent and good faith effort to prevent the child

20  from engaging in delinquent acts. The court may also order the

21  parent or guardian to make restitution in money or in kind for

22  any damage or loss caused by the child's offense. The court

23  shall determine a reasonable amount or manner of restitution,

24  and payment shall be made to the clerk of the circuit court as

25  provided in subparagraph 6.

26         10.  Subject to specific appropriation, commit the

27  juvenile sexual offender to the department for placement in a

28  program or facility for juvenile sexual offenders in

29  accordance with s. 985.308. Any commitment of a juvenile

30  sexual offender to a program or facility for juvenile sexual

31  offenders must be for an indeterminate period of time, but the

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 1  time may not exceed the maximum term of imprisonment that an

 2  adult may serve for the same offense. The court may retain

 3  jurisdiction over a juvenile sexual offender until the

 4  juvenile sexual offender reaches the age of 21, specifically

 5  for the purpose of completing the program.

 6         11.  If the residence of a child adjudicated delinquent

 7  is in a foreign country or if the child adjudicated delinquent

 8  is a citizen of a foreign country and is not in this country

 9  in a legal status, notify the United States Immigration and

10  Customs Enforcement Agency of the adjudication of the child,

11  order that the child be returned to his or her country of

12  origin, and order the department to transfer the physical

13  custody of the child to the United States Immigration and

14  Customs Enforcement Agency for the appropriate processing to

15  remove the child from this country.

16         Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2006.

17  

18            *****************************************

19                          SENATE SUMMARY

20    Requires a juvenile probation officer to determine the
      country of citizenship of each child referred to the
21    Department of Juvenile Justice. Requires the juvenile
      probation officer to report the information to the
22    department and the United States Immigration and Customs
      Enforcement Agency. Requires the department to develop a
23    centralized, automated intake and screening database to
      collect information on the country of citizenship for
24    youth referred to the department. Directs the department
      to make the information developed in the database
25    available to certain agencies. Requires a juvenile court
      under specified circumstances to notify the United States
26    Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency of the
      adjudication of the child, to order that the child be
27    returned to his or her country of origin, and to order
      the department to transfer the physical custody of the
28    child to the United States Immigration and Customs
      Enforcement Agency for the appropriate processing to
29    remove the child from this country.

30  

31  

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