HB 983

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to juvenile justice; amending s. 985.245,
3	F.S.; requiring additional risk assessment points to be
4	assessed for a child on a specified status who is charged
5	with a new offense; amending s. 985.255, F.S.; providing
6	that a child may continue to be detained by a court if he
7	or she violates the conditions of his or her home
8	detention; providing that a child may be detained for
9	failure to appear at any hearing, not just adjudicatory
10	hearings; increasing the periods that children may be
11	detained for failure to appear at hearings; providing for
12	additional detention for a child detained on a judicial
13	order for failure to appear who has previously willfully
14	failed to appear at two or more court hearings; deleting
15	language concerning a child's failure to keep the clerk of
16	court and defense counsel informed of a current and valid
17	mailing address as not constituting a valid excuse for a
18	failure to appear; amending s. 985.26, F.S.; providing
19	that a child on home detention who violates the conditions
20	of detention may be placed in secure detention regardless
21	of his or her risk assessment score; increasing the
22	periods that a child may be held under certain detention
23	orders; revising language concerning the period that a
24	child may be held in secure, nonsecure, or home detention
25	care; amending s. 985.27, F.S.; providing that a child
26	awaiting placement in any commitment level may be held in
27	secure detention pending placement if the child is
28	arrested for any offense while in other specified forms of
29	detention care; providing an effective date.
30
31	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
32
33	Section 1.  Subsection (4) of section 985.245, Florida
34	Statutes, is amended to read:
35	985.245  Risk assessment instrument.-
36	(4)  For a child who is under the supervision of the
37	department through probation, home detention, nonsecure
38	detention, conditional release, postcommitment probation, or
39	commitment and who is charged with committing a new offense, the
40	risk assessment instrument may be completed and scored based on
41	the underlying charge for which the child was placed under the
42	supervision of the department and the new offense. In addition,
43	a score of 3 points in aggravation shall be included.
44	Section 2.  Paragraphs (i) and (j) of subsection (1) of
45	section 985.255, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as
46	paragraphs (j) and (k), respectively, and amended, and a new
47	paragraph (i) is added to that subsection, to read:
48	985.255  Detention criteria; detention hearing.-
49	(1)  Subject to s. 985.25(1), a child taken into custody
50	and placed into nonsecure or home detention care or detained in
51	secure detention care prior to a detention hearing may continue
52	to be detained by the court if:
53	(i)  The child is alleged to have violated the conditions
54	of the child's home detention.
55	(j)(i)  The child is detained on a judicial order for
56	failure to appear and has previously willfully failed to appear,
57	after proper notice, for any an adjudicatory hearing on the same
58	case regardless of the results of the risk assessment
59	instrument. A child may be held in secure detention for up to 5
60	business days 72 hours in advance of the next scheduled court
61	hearing pursuant to this paragraph. The child's failure to keep
62	the clerk of court and defense counsel informed of a current and
63	valid mailing address where the child will receive notice to
64	appear at court proceedings does not provide an adequate ground
65	for excusal of the child's nonappearance at the hearings.
66	(k)(j)  The child is detained on a judicial order for
67	failure to appear and has previously willfully failed to appear,
68	after proper notice, at two or more court hearings of any nature
69	on the same case, and under such circumstances shall be held in
70	secure detention for up to 21 days, regardless of the results of
71	the risk assessment instrument. A child may be held in secure
72	detention for up to 72 hours in advance of the next scheduled
73	court hearing pursuant to this paragraph. The child's failure to
74	keep the clerk of court and defense counsel informed of a
75	current and valid mailing address where the child will receive
76	notice to appear at court proceedings does not provide an
77	adequate ground for excusal of the child's nonappearance at the
78	hearings.
79	Section 3.  Subsections (1), (2), and (3) of section
80	985.26, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
81	985.26  Length of detention.-
82	(1)(a)  A child may not be placed into or held in secure,
83	nonsecure, or home detention care for longer than 24 hours
84	unless the court orders such detention care, and the order
85	includes specific instructions that direct the release of the
86	child from such detention care, in accordance with s. 985.255.
87	The order shall be a final order, reviewable by appeal under s.
88	985.534 and the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure. Appeals of
89	such orders shall take precedence over other appeals and other
90	pending matters.
91	(b)  A child released on home detention, who violates the
92	conditions thereof, may be placed in secure detention regardless
93	of the score on the risk assessment instrument.
94	(2)  A child may not be held in secure, nonsecure, or home
95	detention care under a special detention order for more than 30
96	21 days unless an adjudicatory hearing for the case has been
97	commenced in good faith by the court. However, upon good cause
98	being shown that the nature of the charge requires additional
99	time for the prosecution or defense of the case, the court may
100	extend the length of detention for an additional 15 9 days. If
101	the child is charged with an offense that would be, if committed
102	by an adult, a capital felony, a life felony, a felony of the
103	first degree, or a felony of the second degree involving
104	violence against any individual, the child may be held in secure
105	detention for up to 45 days.
106	(3)  Except as provided in subsection (2), a child may not
107	be held in secure, nonsecure, or home detention care for more
108	than 15 days pending disposition, after following the entry of
109	an order of adjudication.
110	Section 4.  Subsection (3) is added to section 985.27,
111	Florida Statutes, to read:
112	985.27  Postcommitment detention while awaiting placement.-
113	(3)  A child who is awaiting placement in any commitment
114	level may be held in secure detention pending placement if the
115	child is arrested for any offense, including a misdemeanor while
116	the child is placed in home detention care, nonsecure detention
117	care, or home or nonsecure detention care with electronic
118	monitoring, while awaiting placement in that program.
119	Section 5.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.