civil citation keeping kids out of the juvenile justice...

FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE JUSTICE

Civil Citation – Keeping Kids out of

the Juvenile Justice System

Part of the Community, Part of the Solution

Child Protection Summit 2016

WHAT IS CIVIL CITATION

• A Statewide Process

• Authorized in S. 985.12, Florida Statutes

• An alternative to judicial handling

• Limited to nonserious misdemeanors

• Focus is to prevent further delinquency

• Increases public safety

• Improves youth outcomes

Governor Rick Scott Secretary Christina DalyFLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE JUSTICE

A Civil Citation or similar diversion opportunity in each

community

Identifies stakeholders and decision makers

Provides law enforcement discretion to issue up to three

civil citations

Limits eligibility to non-serious misdemeanor offenses

Youth must admit guilt and can refuse participation

SECTION 985.12, FLORIDA STATUTES


SECTION 985.12, FLORIDA STATUTES

Requires a youth assessment and intervention services

Requires up to 50 hours of community service hours

Specifies a civil citation is not an arrest

Ensures original charge goes forward for failure to

complete

Authorizes DJJ to collect data and help build successful

processes


STATUATORY RESPONSIBILITIESSection 985.12, Florida Statutes

Judge, SA, PD, LE

• Concur

• Identify Operating Entity

Law Enforcement

• Cite

• Assign service hours

• Notify

Operating Entity

• Assess Youth

• Assign interventions

• Report Outcomes

Department of Juvenile Justice

• Help implement and improve

• Collect and analyze data

• Develop Model

Child

• Admit

• Report, or

• Refuse

Service Hour Monitor

• Reports hours to operating entity


Failure: Original arrest paperwork is processed

Arrest Forms are held and process

begins

Success!No Juvenile Record

LE agrees to Civil Citation

Delinquency IntakeOther Offenders

Sanctions•Service Hours•Apology letter•Restitution•Academics•Other

Intervention•Family Counseling• Urinalysis monitoring• SA/MH services• Other

Civil Citation Process

Program• Assesses youth• Determines intervention• Referrals for services• Case mgmt

Nonserious Misdemeanor


Youth & Parent/Guardian/

DCF Caseworker Agrees

WHY CIVIL CITATION?


22,032

20,179

Youth who

committed other

offenses

Youth who

committed

misdemeanors

For Florida’s Fiscal Year

2014-15:

• 42,211 youth referred to

DJJ

• 20,179 of those

committed

misdemeanors

• 20,833 youth committed

misdemeanors eligible

for Civil Citation

• 8,961 of those received a

Civil Citation

8,961

11,782 Youth issued a

Civil Citation

Civil Citation-

eligible arrested

youth

BENEFITS

Addresses bad behavior early and immediately

Allows DJJ to identify youth likely to escalate

Youth who successfully complete civil citation have no arrest record to

impede future success

Keeps youth that pose no real threat to public safety out of the juvenile

justice system

Reduces racial and ethnic disparity

Reduces the cost of processing youth for misdemeanors in multiple

systems

Frees limited resources to focus on more serious and violent offenders


CONSEQUENCE OF AN ARREST

Negative Labeling

May have driver’s license suspended

May be suspended or drop-out of school May lose housing or education

financial assistance

State and Federal Criminal History Record Created Impedes military,

educational, vocational opportunities

Rearrest is More Likely


SUPPORTING RESEARCH

60 percent of first time misdemeanor offenders do not recidivate

Youth 12 and under are likely to escalate

The Risk Principle

Minority overrepresentation

School gateways

Brain development

Labeling

Swift, effective sanctions


ELIGIBILITY

Limited to nonserious misdemeanors

No prior criminal history

Can receive up to three civil citations

Battery, Assault, Non-firearm weapon, and Animal Cruelty eligible

with approval

Firearm, sexual or gang related offenses only if in the best interest of

the public and the child


2013-14 Twelve-Month Recidivism by Placement Type

Recidivism: Subsequent adjudication, adjudication withheld, or adult conviction within 12 months of successful completion


5% 6%

13%15%

45%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

Civil Citation Prevention Diversion Probation Residential

Of eligible youth, those given Civil Citation experienced

significantly better outcomes

Recidivism by Offense Category – Fiscal Year 11-12

3%

5% 5% 5%6%

7%7%

12%

10%

21%

16%15%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

Petit Theft Assault &

Battery

Drug Offenses Loitering &

Prowling

Trepassing Obstruction of

Justice

Civil Citation Diversion


Civil Citation serves higher percentages of minority youth

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

FY 11-12 FY 12-13 FY 13-14 FY 14-15*

36%39%

47%50%

25%

32%

38%

44%

23%26%

34%

39%

Hispanic Black White


Percent of Eligible Youth Served by Race

UTILIZATION TRENDS

8/30/2016 18

26,754

23,897

21,367 20,83319,801

16,502

13,22811,872

6,953 7,3958,139

8,961

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15

Civil Citation by Fiscal Year

Eligible Youth Arrested Issued a Civil Citation % Eligible Issued a Civil Citation


Of arrested youth

eligible for

Civil Citation

statewide, 85%

posed little

threat to public

safety.

• 63% were

diverted

• 22% were

dismissed or

received no

sanction

Theda Roberts

Statewide Civil Citation Coordinator

Florida Department of Juvenile Justice

Office 321.383.2751 – Cell 850.322.9564

[email protected]

http://www.djj.state.fl.us/partners/our-approach/florida-civil-citation

http://www.djj.state.fl.us/research/delinquency-data/fy-2012-13-civil-citation-

dashboard

For more information about the Florida Juvenile Justice Initiative:

So what does this have to do with children known to DCF?

Doesn’t DJJ have this covered?

Not entirely. We need to become

much more involved.

REMEMBER THE EFFECTS OF ARREST FOR ALL YOUTH

Negative Labeling May have driver’s license suspended May be suspended or drop-out of school May lose housing or education financial

assistance State and Federal Criminal History Record

Created Impedes military, educational, vocational

opportunities Rearrest is More Likely

Our kids have also suffered trauma in their homes, at the hands of their parents. These effects are amplified for them.

Although only a small subset of DCF-involved youth ever have juvenile justice involvement, crossover youth constitute a relatively large portion of DJJ-involved youth.

Multiple factors place child welfare-involved youth at risk

for juvenile justice involvement: Relatively harsh system response to offending1

Psychological and behavioral impact of trauma and neglect2

Related adverse childhood experiences, such as family dysfunction3

1 Ryan, J.P., Hertz, D., Hernandez, P., & Marshall, J.M. (2007). Maltreatment and delinquency: Investigating child welfare bias in juvenile justice processing. Children and Youth Services Review, 29, 1035-1050. 2Buffington, K., Dierkhising, C., & Marsh, S. (n.d.). Ten

“OUR” KIDS DON’T HAVE THE SAME ACCESS TO OR SUCCESS RATE WITH CIVIL CITATIONS.

CAN WE TURN THAT AROUND?

LET’S LOOK AT THE DATA ON OUR KIDS AND

CIVIL CITATIONS.

Statewide Utilization of Civil Citations for All Youth

No DCF Involvement 43% Verified Investigation 37% In Home 38% Out of Home 34%

SWITCH TO PDF STATISTICS FROM DJJ

NOTE: THESE STATISTICS ARE FOR ILLUSTRATIVE PURPOSES ONLY. DCF AND DJJ DATA SYSTEMS

DON’T TALK WELL WITH ONE ANOTHER.

Walton

Wakulla

Suwannee

St Lucie

St Johns

Sarasota

Santa Rosa

Polk

Pinellas

Osceola

Okeechobee

OkaloosaNassau

MonroeMiami-Dade

Leon

Lake

Lafayette

Jefferson

Holmes

Hillsborough

Highlands

Hernando

Hendry

Glades

Flagler

Duval

Columbia

Collier

Clay

Charlotte

Washington

Volusia

Taylor

Sumter Seminole

Putnam

Pasco

Palm Beach

Orange

Martin

Marion

Manatee

Madison

Levy

Lee

Indian River

Hardee

Hamilton

Gulf

Gilchrist

Gadsden

Franklin

Escambia

Dixie

Desoto

Citrus

Broward

Brevard

Bradford

BayBaker

Alachua

Utilization Rates0-19%

20-39%

40-59%

60-79%

80-100%

CivilCitations

Arrests UtilizationRate

%SuccessfulCompletion

Miami-Dade

Pinellas

Monroe

Union

Broward

Bay

Seminole

Leon

Wakulla

Baker

Marion

Palm Beach

Pasco

Hernando

Lafayette

Alachua

Collier

Indian River

Escambia

St Johns

Nassau

Jackson

Volusia

Lee

Martin

Flagler

Duval

Hendry

Hillsborough

Santa Rosa

Lake

Manatee

Citrus

Columbia 80%

89%

72%

94%

93%

88%

79%

70%

72%

87%

91%

28%

54%

90%

94%

78%

87%

98%

78%

100%

82%

83%

77%

95%

96%

94%

90%

79%

59%

90%

60%

91%

73%

79%

23%

25%

28%

29%

30%

30%

30%

31%

35%

37%

38%

39%

39%

42%

44%

45%

45%

47%

49%

50%

52%

53%

58%

60%

61%

61%

61%

62%

64%

67%

77%

79%

81%

90%

66

54

307

245

105

996

76

612

66

93

414

361

20

43

109

291

74

249

169

1

106

240

462

179

15

11

135

239

151

509

3

15

220

135

20

18

122

100

44

428

33

281

36

54

259

231

13

31

84

234

61

219

160

1

113

269

629

265

23

17

214

395

274

1,011

10

55

950

1,264

CivilCitations



Putnam

Jefferson

Brevard

Charlotte

Osceola

Franklin

Gilchrist

Highlands

Orange

Glades

Clay

Desoto

St Lucie

Suwannee

Hamilton

Sumter

Okeechobee

Okaloosa

Levy

Walton

Bradford

Calhoun

Dixie

Gadsden

Gulf

Hardee

Holmes

Liberty

Madison

Polk

Sarasota

Taylor

Washington

100%

100%

95%

67%

100%

0%

83%

88%

100%

46%

100%

87%

89%

100%

50%

86%

90%

76%

50%

86%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

3%

6%

7%

8%

8%

12%

14%

15%

15%

17%

17%

17%

18%

20%

21%

21%

22%

22%

22%

21

21

157

955

26

6

9

35

7

30

13

5

26

220

31

294

39

55

22

46

261

40

272

5

1,250

92

14

8

420

191

427

7

73

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

1

20

3

5

2

6

41

7

48

1

254

19

3

2

111

52

119

2

21

Statewide 80%42%11,8498,636

No DCFInvolvement

VerifiedInvestigation

In Home Out of Home

43%

37% 38%34%

Utilization - DCF Crossover Youth (Select to fil-ter)

Civil Citation Utilization Statewide FY2014-15

Female Male

46% 54%

Gender (Select to filter)

Black White Hispanic Other

48%42%

10%0%

Race/Ethnicity (Select to filter)

Walton

Wakulla

Suwannee

St Lucie

St Johns

Sarasota

Santa Rosa

Polk

Pinellas

Osceola

Okeechobee

OkaloosaNassau

MonroeMiami-Dade

Leon

Lake

Lafayette

Jefferson

Holmes

Hillsborough

Highlands

Hernando

Hendry

Glades

Flagler

Duval

Columbia

Collier

Clay

Charlotte

Washington

Volusia

Taylor

Sumter Seminole

Putnam

Pasco

Palm Beach

Orange

Martin

Marion

Manatee

Madison

Levy

Lee

Indian River

Hardee

Hamilton

Gulf

Gilchrist

Gadsden

Franklin

Escambia

Dixie

Desoto

Citrus

Broward

Brevard

Bradford

BayBaker

Alachua

Utilization Rates0-19%

20-39%

40-59%

60-79%

80-100%

CivilCitations



Lafayette

Wakulla

Miami-Dade

Pinellas

Seminole

Monroe

Broward

Bay

Hernando

Marion

Palm Beach

Pasco

Volusia

St Johns

Lee

Alachua

Leon

Manatee

Baker

Santa Rosa

Escambia

Collier

Citrus

Hendry

Duval

Lake

Hillsborough

Flagler

Columbia

Nassau

Indian River

Martin

Jackson

Union

100%

100%

100%

100%

78%

75%

57%

0%

100%

75%

57%

100%

100%

46%

93%

70%

93%

100%

20%

78%

72%

93%

70%

22%

73%

50%

48%

58%

66%

100%

100%

0%

13%

14%

14%

17%

17%

19%

22%

25%

27%

31%

32%

33%

33%

34%

37%

37%

39%

42%

43%

44%

45%

47%

48%

56%

62%

67%

68%

75%

91%

100%

100%

4

13

6

6

5

89

17

49

3

8

9

44

10

2

25

24

17

23

7

27

23

35

16

11

14

30

1

13

26

7

0

0

0

2

1

1

1

18

4

14

1

3

4

21

5

1

13

14

10

15

5

20

18

29

14

10

18

48

2

27

77

67

1

1

CivilCitations



Putnam

Brevard

Sumter

Okeechobee

Charlotte

St Lucie

Orange

Clay

Okaloosa

Bradford

Desoto

Dixie

Franklin

Gadsden

Gilchrist

Glades

Gulf

Hamilton

Hardee

Highlands

Holmes

Jefferson

Levy

Madison

Osceola

Polk

Sarasota

Suwannee

Taylor

Walton

Washington

Calhoun

Liberty

100%

100%

83%

50%

100%

100%

100%

70%

100%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

5%

6%

7%

8%

8%

13%

14%

19%

29%

1

4

3

6

7

98

20

1

3

1

1

4

3

1

1

1

2

1

1

2

6

1

21

15

79

24

11

7

6

43

5

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

1

6

2

1

1

1

10

2

Statewide 66%34%943.0490.0

No DCFInvolvement

VerifiedInvestigation

In Home Out of Home

43%

37% 38%34%

Utilization - DCF Crossover Youth (Select to fil-ter)

Civil Citation Utilization Statewide FY2014-15

Female Male

46% 54%

Gender (Select to filter)

Black White Hispanic Other

48%42%

10%0%

Race/Ethnicity (Select to filter)

LET’S LOOK AT A FEW EXAMPLES

1. Low utilization rate, low success rate: Bay County: 425 eligible youth: 64% offered civil citations; 59% successful. Escambia County: 65 eligible youth: 32% offered civil citation; 57% successful.


2. Low utilization rate, high success rate: Brevard County: 53 eligible youth: 19 % offered civil citations; 70% successful

completion. Indian River County: 15 eligible youth: 13% offered civil citation; 100% successful completion.


3. High utilization; low success rate: Miami-Dade: 74 eligible youth: 91% utilization rate; 66 % success rate. Pinellas County: 103 eligible youth: 75 % utilization rate; 58 % success rate.


High utilization; high success: Only small counties fall into this category. E.g., Lafayette and Wakulla counties both have 100% for both utilization and success, but they only had 1 eligible youth each.

IDENTIFYING OUR CHALLENGES

1. Law Enforcement doesn’t issue civil citations – at all. 2. Law Enforcement doesn’t issue civil citations to children in

out-of-home care 3. Children receive civil citations, but do not successfully

complete them. 4. Both a lower rate of citations to DCF out-of-home youth and

a low successful completion rate for those youth who receive citations.

IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER

The statistics are based on youth “eligible” for civil citations. Look at every youth who was arrested, rather than cited, or who had an unsuccessful citation. If there is ever a “next time”, no matter how long after this arrest and no matter how minor the crime, that youth is not eligible for a citation. Same issue for youth with an unsuccessful citation.

BRAINSTORMING SOLUTIONS

Any ideas?

BRAINSTORMING SOLUTIONS – UTILIZATION RATE •Develop relationships with local LEOs – both Sheriff and city/town

• Work with local stakeholder groups, esp. if overall utilization is low; • Encourage your judiciary to become involved; • Work with local State Attorney and Public Defender; • Identify barriers to citing out-of-home DCF children if utilization is lower for our kids than kids in the community. Work with law enforcement to resolve their issues

•FYI: If an arrest is made, a law enforcement officer must provide written documentation as to why an arrest was warranted. Can ask LEO for this document for your children who were arrested for a non-serious misdemeanor.

BRAINSTORMING SOLUTIONS – UTILIZATION RATE

•Educate stakeholders as to the benefits of citation v. arrest •Case managers •Foster parents/group home staff •The children themselves.

•Consider incentives for your providers, especially group homes.

BRAINSTORMING SOLUTIONS – SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION

•Identify which children are cited •Ensure a method to support these children

•Discuss with foster parent/group home staff •Discuss importance of completion with children. [Arrest for initial crime]

•If these children are moved, ensure the terms of the citation are fully communicated to the new case worker; ensure the oversight entity knows about the move and has contact information for the new case worker

WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO ENGAGE IN A SURVEY TO BETTER IDENTIFY THESE ISSUES?

•CBCs as to relationships with LE and policies for CMOs

•CMOs for their current awareness and practices •Support teenagers who were arrested or cited in

responding to a survey

RESTORATIVE PRINCIPLES IN LIEU OF PUNISHMENT/CALLS TO POLICE

* Restorative Principles utilize a new way of addressing problematic/”bad” behavior. • The central focus is the victim‘s needs and offender‘s responsibility for repairing harm. •Provides consequences and resolution without devaluing the offender. Promotes placement and school stability.

THESE PRINCIPLES ARE BEING USED IN MANY FLORIDA SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO REDUCE ARRESTS

AND SCHOOL SUSPENSIONS/EXPULSION.

OSCA has a pilot project with the following school districts: Palm Beach County Leon County Broward County Sarasota County Pinellas County Okaloosa County Alachua County https://www.schooljustice.org

STEPS IN THE RESTORATIVE JUSTICE PROCESS A facilitator individually meets with all parties to gather

information and set expectations;

The parties meet in a restorative circle;

The impact of the act is discussed, and parties are heard;

A voluntary, reasonable, and achievable agreement is reached.

WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF USING RESTORATIVE JUSTICE?

• Receiver satisfaction • Reduced recidivism • Localized programming • Re-humanizes the Actor • In institutional settings, alternative to arrest

or suspension/expulsion.

10-YEAR DCF DATASET MERGED TO TWO POOLS OF DJJ YOUTH TO DEVELOP THREE SEPARATE ANALYSES: * ONE DAY SNAPSHOT OF YOUTH WHO AGED OUT DURING A RECENT 12-MONTH PERIOD. * RECIDIVISM FOLLOWING DELINQUENCY INTERVENTION * PROGRAM COMPLETION LABELED AS “CROSSOVER” IF HIGHEST LEVEL OF PRIOR DCF INVOLVEMENT WAS A VERIFIED FINDING OF ABUSE/NEGLECT, IN-HOME SERVICES, OR OUT-OF-HOME PLACEMENT

DEBORAH A. SCHROTH, ESQ., DCF/CLS COUNSEL FOR INDEPENDENT LIVING 850-524-5815 [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]�

civil citation keeping kids out of the juvenile justice...

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