MONROE COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE

General Order

CHAPTER:		TITLE:
070-C		Juvenile Programs Unit
EFFECTIVE DATE:	NO. PAGES:	REVIEWED/REVISED:
June 20, 2013	1	February 26, 2019
REFERENCE:		RESCINDS:
CALEA 44.1.2, 44.1.3
Sheriff of Monroe County

I.PURPOSE: The Juvenile Program Unit reports to the Major, Bureau of Law Enforcement and

operates under a contract with the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). The Monroe County Sheriff's Office (MCSO), under the contract, assists in meeting the missions of DJJ: protecting the public by reducing juvenile crime and delinquency in Monroe County. The Unit accomplishes this by offering three programs to meet causes of youth's delinquency:

A.Teen Court: Teen Court is offered in both the upper and lower keys to youth who receive citations for misdemeanors. The experience of youth being tried by their peers in a court room is a valuable lesson for first time offenders as well as the youth who participate as jurors.

B.Juvenile Civil Citation: Youth who receive Juvenile Civil Citations for misdemeanors receive a needs assessment and are assigned sanctions based upon the needs assessment. These youth may be assigned to Teen Court based upon their needs. The youth are given from 30-60 days to complete the sanctions. A Case Manager meets with the youth and parents at least bi-weekly to review progress and offer counseling. If a youth fails to satisfactorily complete the program, the Case Manager sends the original citation to the Office of the State Attorney with a request to review the case in Juvenile Court.

C.Intensive Delinquency Diversion Services (IDDS): Youth who are arrested may be diverted back to MCSO to the IDDS program, by the Office of the State Attorney. In this program, the Case Manager conducts a needs assessment and establishes a plan with the youth and family. The plan may include curfews, drug testing, community work service, mental health therapy, anger management, vocational and academic counseling, letters of apology, etc. The program may last up to seven months with regular visits with the Case Manager in the home and/or school.

II.POLICY AND PROCEDURE: Annually, the Director of this Division will prepare a review and written evaluation report of all juvenile enforcement and prevention programs. Such an evaluation may be conducted more frequently. This report will be sent to the Sheriff via Chain of Command. [CALEA 44.1.3]

In the establishment of juvenile policies and procedures by the Office, the Juvenile Unit will maintain liaison with Department of Children and Families and Department of Juvenile Justice to solicit their input. [CALEA 44.1.2]

The Juvenile Programs Unit includes a self-evaluation with a pre-test/post-test conducted on each youth and a follow-up recidivism report to ensure that the programs are meeting the missions of the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice and the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.

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