Florida Senate - 2011 SB 554
By Senator Fasano
11-00381A-11 2011554__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to community-based juvenile justice;
3 creating s. 985.665, F.S.; providing legislative
4 intent; defining the term “regional coordinating
5 agency”; providing requirements for a regional
6 coordinating agency; providing for the Department of
7 Juvenile Justice to contract with regional
8 coordinating agencies for specified services relating
9 to juvenile justice; providing for annual measurement
10 and reporting concerning the outcomes and
11 effectiveness of community-based juvenile justice
12 services; requiring regional coordinating agencies to
13 comply with specified requirements; providing for
14 liability of regional coordinating agencies and
15 contracted providers with respect to the treatment of
16 juvenile offenders; providing for governance of
17 regional coordinating agencies; providing for 2-year
18 pilot programs in specified judicial circuits;
19 requiring reports; providing an effective date.
20
21 WHEREAS, 94 percent of Florida youth grow up to be
22 productive citizens, but the 6 percent of Florida youth that
23 become delinquent cost the state of Florida an average of $5,200
24 per child annually according to 2008 statistics, and
25 WHEREAS, according to national studies, 27 percent of
26 abused or neglected children become delinquent, and
27 WHEREAS, one of the most effective ways to reduce
28 delinquency is to prevent child abuse, abandonment, and neglect,
29 and
30 WHEREAS, Florida’s juvenile commitment programs have a 39
31 percent recidivism rate within 1 year, and
32 WHEREAS, the Department of Juvenile Justice shows that 59
33 percent of the juveniles being rearrested offend within 120 days
34 after being released, revealing a critical transition period
35 currently not being addressed, and
36 WHEREAS, the State of Washington undertook a study that
37 demonstrated that a significant level of future prison
38 construction can be avoided, taxpayer dollars can be saved, and
39 crime rates can be reduced by a portfolio of evidence-based
40 youth service options, and
41 WHEREAS, it has been proven that at-risk youth benefit from
42 a comprehensive approach through coordination of intensive
43 prevention, diversion, and family services, and
44 WHEREAS, local management fosters all these approaches,
45 ensures stronger relationships between providers and the family,
46 and allows providers to assist in strengthening relationships
47 between the child and the family, and
48 WHEREAS, instead of competing for funding, prevention,
49 diversion, and juvenile justice services should cooperate with
50 the goal of keeping youth out of juvenile detention, NOW,
51 THEREFORE,
52
53 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
54
55 Section 1. Section 985.665, Florida Statutes, is created to
56 read:
57 985.665 Community-based juvenile justice.—
58 (1)(a) It is the intent of the Legislature to direct the
59 department to contract with competent community-based agencies
60 to coordinate and manage juvenile justice and related services.
61 By implementing community-based juvenile justice, the community
62 based regional coordinating agency will provide flexibility to
63 assess needs, apportion the funds allocated to the department
64 for this purpose, and build the appropriate continuum of care
65 resulting in more local ownership of juvenile justice problems
66 and better service outcomes. The community-based juvenile
67 justice model is designed to treat most of the juveniles in
68 services that are located and managed in their home communities
69 and that will promote greater family involvement and engagement,
70 promote better system and service coordination, and achieve more
71 significant economic and operational efficiencies. These
72 services may include intervention, prevention, assessment
73 centers, diversion programs, civil citation, home detention,
74 alternatives to detention, community-based services, probation,
75 day treatment, independent living, evidence-based programs,
76 residential programming, and detention.
77 (b) As used in this section, the term “regional
78 coordinating agency” means a single nonprofit or county
79 government agency with which the department shall contract for
80 the provision of juvenile justice services in a community that
81 consists of at least one entire county.
82 (c) The requirements for a regional coordinating agency
83 include, but are not limited to:
84 1. The organizational infrastructure and financial capacity
85 to coordinate, integrate, and manage all juvenile justice
86 services in the designated community in cooperation with law
87 enforcement and the judiciary.
88 2. The ability to ensure continuity of care from entry to
89 exit for all juveniles referred to the agency by law enforcement
90 agencies, the court system, and other referral sources.
91 3. The ability to contract with providers to create a local
92 network of juvenile justice services.
93 4. The willingness to accept accountability for meeting the
94 outcomes and performance standards related to juvenile justice
95 established by the Legislature and the Federal Government.
96 5. The capability and willingness to serve all juveniles
97 referred to the agency by law enforcement agencies and the court
98 system with funding from the department.
99 6. The willingness to ensure that each individual who
100 provides juvenile justice services has successfully completed
101 the training required by the department as of July 1, 2011.
102 (2) The department shall contract with the regional
103 coordinating agency for the delivery, administration, and
104 management of services, including the services specified in
105 subsection (1) relating to juvenile justice, and other related
106 services or programs, as appropriate. The department shall
107 retain responsibility for the quality of contracted services and
108 programs and shall ensure that services are delivered in
109 accordance with applicable federal and state statutes and
110 regulations.
111 (3)(a) The department, in partnership with an objective,
112 competent entity, shall establish a quality assurance program
113 for community-based juvenile justice. The quality assurance
114 program must include national standards for each specific
115 component of these services. The department, in consultation
116 with the regional coordinating agencies that are undertaking
117 community-based juvenile justice, shall establish minimum
118 thresholds for each component of service. Each regional
119 coordinating agency must be evaluated annually by the department
120 or by an objective, competent entity designated by the
121 department under the provisions of the quality assurance
122 program.
123 (b) The department shall establish and operate a
124 comprehensive system to measure and report annually the outcomes
125 and effectiveness of the services that are part of the regional
126 coordinating agencies’ community-based juvenile justice service
127 programs. The department shall use these findings in making
128 recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature for future
129 program and funding priorities in the juvenile justice system.
130 (4) The regional coordinating agency must comply with
131 statutory requirements and agency regulations in the provision
132 of contractual services. Each regional coordinating agency must
133 contract with providers meeting the current department standards
134 under this chapter. The department, in order to eliminate or
135 reduce the number of duplicate inspections by various program
136 offices, shall coordinate inspections required pursuant to
137 approval of agencies under this section.
138 (5) With respect to the treatment of juvenile offenders
139 under this section, regional coordinating agencies and
140 contracted providers shall be treated as the state and its
141 agencies and subdivisions for liability purposes under s.
142 768.28.
143 (6) The operations of a regional coordinating agency shall
144 be governed by a local board of directors, of which 75 percent
145 of the membership shall be comprised of persons residing within
146 the service area of the regional coordinating agency.
147 (7) Beginning in the 2011-2012 fiscal year, the department
148 shall establish a minimum of three pilot sites to operate for 2
149 years each. These pilot sites must be established in judicial
150 circuits 2, 6, and 11. Regional coordinating agencies may be
151 selected from a single source pursuant to s. 287.057(3)(c) and
152 must be established organizations within the circuit. The
153 department shall select the regional coordinating agencies for
154 each of the pilot sites by December 1, 2011. Contracts with
155 organizations responsible for the pilots shall include the
156 management and administration of all juvenile justice services
157 specified in subsection (1). The department shall transfer all
158 administrative and operational funding associated with these
159 services to the regional coordinating agency, less those funds
160 necessary to provide and coordinate management of quality
161 assurance and oversight. Each regional coordinating agency that
162 participates in the pilot effort or any future community-based
163 juvenile justice effort as described in this section must
164 thoroughly analyze and report the complete direct and indirect
165 costs of delivering these services through the department and
166 the full cost of community-based juvenile justice, including the
167 cost of monitoring and evaluating the contracted services. No
168 later than January 31 of each year, beginning in 2013, the
169 department shall submit the evaluation regarding quality
170 performance, outcome measure attainment, and cost efficiency, as
171 provided in paragraph (3)(b), for each pilot program in
172 operation during the preceding fiscal year, to the President of
173 the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the
174 minority leaders of the Senate and the House of Representatives,
175 and the Governor.
176 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.