| 1 | Representative Needelman offered the following: |
| 2 |
|
| 3 | Amendment to Senate Amendment (206662) (with title |
| 4 | amendment) |
| 5 | Between lines 494 and 495, insert: |
| 6 | Section 12. Section 985.438, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 7 | to read: |
| 8 | 985.438 Commitment alternatives; Redirection Program.-- |
| 9 | (1) The Redirection Program is created for the purpose of |
| 10 | providing an alternative to residential commitment for eligible |
| 11 | youth that would otherwise be committed to a residential |
| 12 | program. Under this program, eligible youth may be diverted or |
| 13 | redirected to a therapy-based community program when |
| 14 | appropriate. The department, in conjunction with the chief judge |
| 15 | and the state attorney in each participating judicial circuit, |
| 16 | shall develop criteria to identify those eligible youth that are |
| 17 | appropriate for participation in the program. Eligible youth |
| 18 | shall include youth that: |
| 19 | (a) Have been adjudicated delinquent, or have had |
| 20 | adjudication withheld, for a non-law violation such as a |
| 21 | violation of a condition of probation; or |
| 22 | (b) Have been adjudicated delinquent, or have had |
| 23 | adjudication withheld, for a nonviolent felony, other than a |
| 24 | first degree felony or any felony direct-filed in adult court. |
| 25 | (2) The Redirection Program must provide community-based |
| 26 | services that have been identified as model programs or as |
| 27 | promising programs as determined by a nationally recognized |
| 28 | research entity using rigorous research design methodologies to |
| 29 | establish criteria of a strict scientific standard of program |
| 30 | effectiveness in reducing adolescent violent crime, aggression, |
| 31 | delinquency, or substance abuse. Interventions selected for use |
| 32 | in the Redirection Program must be identified by the search |
| 33 | entity as meeting the criteria as a model programs or as |
| 34 | promising programs. At a minimum, such rigorous research design |
| 35 | methodologies shall include the use of a random assignment study |
| 36 | or match control group study and achieve a high level of |
| 37 | internal validity, with an appropriate sample size, low |
| 38 | attrition, no differential attrition and the use of consistent |
| 39 | measures over time. For a program identified as a model, program |
| 40 | effectiveness must have been demonstrated beyond the treatment |
| 41 | period, sustained over an appropriate period of time, and have |
| 42 | had at least one replication. In addition, for a program to be |
| 43 | identified as a model, program effectiveness should also include |
| 44 | an analysis of mediating factors and cost effectiveness. |
| 45 | (3) The department shall maintain the data necessary for |
| 46 | continued longitudinal evaluations of the program, including |
| 47 | those relating to program expansion and program effectiveness. |
| 48 |
|
| 49 |
|
| 50 |
|
| 51 |
|
| 52 |
|
| 53 | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| 54 | T I T L E A M E N D M E N T |
| 55 | Remove line 1264 and insert: |
| 56 | creating s. 985.438, F.S.; providing for commitment |
| 57 | alternatives; providing for the Redirection Program; providing |
| 58 | eligibility for participation; requiring maintenance of data for |
| 59 | program evaluation; amending s. 985.601, F.S.; requiring the |
| 60 | Department of |