Blog: Florida

Last week I had the honor of visiting one of our new Reclaiming Futures sites, Duval County Reclaiming Futures, in Jacksonville, Florida.
Led by the Honorable Judge Henry E. Davis, treatment and court staff closely monitor teens to help them break the cycle of drugs, alcohol and crime.
The team is working to keep kids in school, in their homes and out of juvenile justice facilities by implementing the following practices:

• Enhancing and improving access to substance abuse and mental health treatment services for Reclaiming Futures participants and their families.
• Implementing a comprehensive system of care incorporating various community-based services for families involved in Reclaiming Futures.
• Inspiring the Duval County community to become involved with youth and families in need.

Juvenile Justice Reform

• Courts making strides in protecting children, vulnerable adults (Lincoln Journal Star)
  Supreme Court Chief Justice Heavican thanked lawmakers for passing legislation last session to enhance the Nebraska Juvenile Service Delivery Project, which is designed to keep children involved in the juvenile justice system from becoming repeat offenders. The project aims to keep children from being jailed while they receive services or treatment.
• Changes made in laws affecting youths (Midland Daily News)
  It’s been years in the making, but now some big changes have been made to laws pertaining to juveniles in court. “The predominant push is the idea that we need to have laws that are geared to juveniles,” Midland County Probate Judge Dorene S. Allen said. “Not use adult laws for juveniles.”
• Almost 50 percent fewer youth arrested in Florida schools (Florida Department of Juvenile Justice)
  The number of youth arrested in Florida’s public schools declined 48 percent in the past eight years, from more than 24,000 to 12,520, according to a study released by the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice. The decline corresponds with a downward trend in juvenile delinquency in all categories across the state.
• Building their future: Youth offenders learn woodworking, life skills in lockup (Waco Tribune-Herald)
  In a small shop building at the state youth lockup in Mart, teenage boys who have gotten into trouble with the law are learning woodworking skills that officials hope can be put to good use for the community.
• Best Of 2012: Juvenile Justice Desk (Youth Radio)
  In 2012, Youth Radio's Juvenile Justice Desk followed some major changes to youth sentencing in California and the nation.

Youth exiting juvenile justice residential placements are often thrust back into their home communities without a support system leading to high rates of recidivism and likely pushing the youth deeper into the juvenile justice system. Eckerd recognized this missing link and funded Florida’s first aftercare service for youth in the 1990’s. This service was subsequently noticed by the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice and instituted statewide. Since that time, Eckerd has expanded aftercare services throughout Florida and in other states to include North Carolina and Texas. Eckerd’s Juvenile Justice Aftercare services provide transition and case management support for youth and families prior to and upon exit of residential treatment programs. Millions in cost savings from subsequent residential and detention placements have been realized, and outstanding outcomes have been achieved to include:

• Social Skills Improvements 85%
• Mental Health Improvements 89% (NC and TX)
• Youth Satisfaction 100%
• Parent Satisfaction 100%
• Recidivism 16% (FL)

According to recent figures from the Department of Justice, national youth violence rates are currently half what they were in the 90s. In Florida in particular, rates of violent youth crime dropped 57% between 1995 and 2010. And Florida transfers more young offenders to adult criminal court than any other state in the nation.
However, it's important to note that Florida's falling rates of violent juvenile crime are NOT caused by transferring kids to the adult criminal system. 
Dr. Jeffrey Butts has a must-read op-ed in today's Orlando Sentinel, detailing why transferring troubled kids to adult court does not actually reduce violent crime rates. He writes:

If Florida prosecutors were correct [in their belief that trying youth in adult courts has decreased violent crime rates], these variations in the falling rate of juvenile violence would follow a pattern. Namely, we would see the largest crime declines in the states that transferred the most juveniles to criminal court.
Florida's use of transfer (approximately 165 transfers per 100,000 youth population) is nearly double that of its closest competitors, Oregon and Arizona (96 and 84 per 100,000, respectively). Yet, both of those states beat Florida in the crime drop.
In fact, the state with the lowest use of transfer was Ohio at 20 per 100,000, but Ohio's crime decline of 74 percent was the steepest of all six states.
If Florida transfers far more juveniles to criminal court than any other state and yet the state's crime decline is about average, then it is simply wrong to credit criminal-court transfer for recent reductions in youth violence.