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Department of juvenile Justice

Joe Henderson: Is privatization really best for Florida prisons?

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A recent decision by the U.S. Department of Justice earned a headline or two, but quickly got lost in the chatter over Hillary Clinton’s emails and Donald Trump’s, well, everything. Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates announced a plan for “reducing — and ultimately ending — our use of privately operated prisons.” She noted, “time has shown that they compare poorly to our own Bureau facilities. They simply do not provide the same level of correctional services, programs and resources; they do…

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House votes 117-0 to approve juvenile detention cost sharing bill

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A bill intended to end the fight over juvenile detention costs is headed to the governor. The Florida House voted 117-0 to approve the measure (SB 1322). The approval came just days after the Florida Senate voted 38-0 to approve the bill. The proposal requires counties that aren’t considered fiscally constrained, usually more affluent, urban areas, to pay $42.5 million for all detention costs in fiscal 2016-17. The state would pay the remaining costs. In the years that follow, the…

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Pinellas County wins a round in money dispute with state

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An appellate court has said “pay up” to the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) in a financial dispute with Pinellas County over the cost of “secure juvenile detention care.” The 1st District Court of Appeal, in an opinion released Thursday, ruled against the department in a case the judges noted was “one of many now pending before this Court, with more in the pipeline.” Indeed, in December the same court ruled against Pinellas and Broward counties, saying their claims of being owed money were “a…

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Florida juvenile arrests lowest in 30 years, new report shows

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Gov. Rick Scott announced Tuesday that Florida juvenile arrests have hit their lowest level since 1984, according to the latest delinquency report released by the Department of Juvenile Justice. “Florida is committed to ensuring our communities remain safe, and the ongoing decline in juvenile arrests shows that our focus on prevention programs is working,” Scott said. “We will continue to make important investments in DJJ to make Florida’s juvenile justice system a national leader and ensure our children have the…

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Frank Peterman racks up flight expenses

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At a time when state employees face travel restrictions to save money, Florida’s top juvenile justice official racked up $44,000 on travel — much of it for commercial flights between his office in the capital and St. Petersburg, where his family lives. Frank Peterman, secretary of the Department of Juvenile Justice, has flown at taxpayer expense 68 times between Tampa and Tallahassee since taking office in February 2008, at a cost of nearly $20,000. Many flights left Tallahassee on Thursday…

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