Juvenile
Diversion
Sixth Judicial Circuit
Mission: To provide early intervention, prevention, and diversion services to first
time juvenile offenders, truants and traffic offenders through the Teen Court Program in an
effort to relieve overburdened Juvenile Courts by providing non-judicial dispositions of lesser
juvenile offenses.
Youth who are new to
the criminal justice
system, and/or who
have committed nonviolent offenses, are provided a second chance. Juveniles
who are referred to this program and who successfully
complete it either have adjudication of the offense
withheld or they may earn a complete dismissal of their
charges. Acceptance into the program is contingent upon
consent from the victims in the case.
T
In Teen Court, high school juniors and seniors fill the postions of prosecutor,
defense attorney, clerk, bailiff and jury (above).
he program’s aims are to divert eligible juvenile offenders from
formal court proceedings in order to reduce caseloads and allow
the Court to concentrate its efforts on the most serious juvenile
offenders.
Another major goal is to closely monitor juvenile progress and followthrough to prevent future offenses.
The program has three major components: Juvenile Arbitration,
Juvenile Drug Court and Teen Court.
Juvenile Arbitration is for first-time misdemeanor offenders. Upon
2005 Performance Report
referral to the program, a hearing is held and “sanctions” are
assigned. Sanctions, which the juvenile must complete, may
include restitution, a letter of apology, an essay assignment,
school attendance and behavior improvements, counseling
assessment, community service, and/or educational classes.
The component offers an array of different classes, such as
Conflict Resolution; Drug, Alcohol & Tobacco Awareness;
Gang Awareness and Prevention; To Catch a Thief 1; Maxi1 – To Catch a Thief is an educational program for juveniles charged with retail theft or
petit theft. The program, in a lecture/discussion format, is designed to be a deterrent for
future larceny activities. The program identifies how the offender, offender’s family, the
victim and society are affected by theft, in addition to identifying criminal and civil
penalties for theft. The To Catch a Thief program is for juvenile offenders of all ages.
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Sixth Judicial Circuit
mum Security Jail Tour;
Judicial Education; Drop Out
Prevention Education; and
Tour of Juvenile Boot camp.
Follow-up hearings are held
six to eight weeks from the
initial hearing to determine if
all requirements were successfully met.
A more rigorous component, the STOP (Service and Treatment for
Offender Prevention) Program, is similar in design but is geared for
repeat misdemeanor
offenders and third
Ser
vice Costs (f
iscal ‘05)
Service
(fiscal
degree felony offendThe cost to the Circuit to provide juvenile
ers (excluding ofdiversion services includes staff cost,
fenses involving
certain contracted arbitrator services, and
operating expenses. Juvenile Diversion
personal violence, use
costs are offset by the Teen Court Trust
of a weapon or grand
Fund, generated by the collection of court
theft auto). Addicosts, which are assessed in certain
criminal and civil traffic infractions cases
tional sanctions
pursuant to Pinellas and Pasco County
include 50 community
ordinances.
service hours and
Fulltime Employees ............................................... 13
mandatory weekly
(1 State, 4 Pasco, 9 Pinellas)
Salaries ...................................................... $457,674
phone contact. The
(Other Contractual Services ........ Arbitrator costs
Program lasts apreported under Alternative Dispute Resolution.)
proximately 120 days
Operating Expenses ................................... $ 3,450
and involves an
Total ....................................................... $461,124
additional mid-point
2005 Performance Report
Juvenile
Diversion
hearing to check on a
juvenile’s progress.
Juvenile Drug
Court is offered in
Pinellas and Pasco
counties.
In 2005,
$120,000 was allocated for treament
programs in Juvenile
Drug Court in Pinellas
County.
Juveniles who
have been charged
with misdemeanor or
felony drug charges
may be required to
submit to drug assessment and random
urinalysis. A hearing
master conducts the
initial hearing, and
appropriate sanctions
are applied. Hearings
are held monthly to
monitor the progress
of participants.
GOALS: 1) To provide an
efficient and cost effective
diversionary alternative to formal
judicial proceedings through the
Teen Court Program.
2) To ensure swift and sure
consequences for first-time
offenders, truants, third degree
felony offenders and offensespecific juvenile offenders.
3) To assist juvenile offenders with
future decision making challenges.
4) To hold juvenile offenders who
come before Teen Court
accountable for their actions.
5) To provide juvenile offenders with
educational classes, counseling
and community services, enabling
them to make positive choices.
6) To circumvent the progression of
increased criminal behavior and to
reduce recidivism.
7) To provide an educational forum
for non-offending youth.
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Juvenile
Diversion
Sixth Judicial Circuit
In Teen Court, the roles of
clerk, bailiff, prosecuting and
defense attorneys and jury are
held by high school juniors and
seniors. A hearing officer
serves as the Teen Court judge.
Upon conclusion of a trial, a
teen defendant who is found
guilty is sentenced to sanctions
similar to those in juvenile
arbitration. If using a grand jury format, the teen court jury will
directly ask questions to the teen offender. Again, the jury deliberates and issues a teen court jury verdict.
Teen Court members, seated, take advantage of an opportunity to interact with
Judges Frank Quesada, standing near center, and Walt Fullerton, at left.
2005 Objectives & Achievements
OBJECTIVE
ACHIEVEMENT
75% of youth participating in the program will successfully complete
the program
Pinellas County: 79%
Pasco County: 97.3%
80% non-recidivism rate of juveniles who have successfully
completed the program.
Pinellas County: 91%
Pasco County: 87%
Maintain budget ratio of $150 per diverted juvenile offender.
Pinellas County: $133.89
Pasco County: $163.96
A hearing will be held within 30 days of the juvenile being accepted.
Pinellas County: 11 days
Pasco County: 14 days
2005 Performance Report
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Juvenile
Diversion
Sixth Judicial Circuit
Objectives & Achievements
Trends
Statistics for the last six
months of 2005 indicate that
theft, possession of drugs and
paraphernalia, battery
(including disruption of a
school function) were the
leading offenses committed
by those referred to Pinellas
County’s Juvenile Diversion
programs.
In Pasco County, theft
violence-related crimes
topped the list.
2005 Performance Report
OBJECTIVE
ACHIEVEMENT
Develop appropriate sanctions based
on offense, victim input and juvenile
offenders’ individual needs.
Programs have been developed in
both counties for youths charged with
crimes related to theft, drugs and
violence.
Develop and maintain educational
programs that provide drug counseling
and education for juvenile offenders
and their families.
Pinellas County: 16 programs that
include mental health and drug
counseling.
Pasco County: 10 programs that
include mental health and drug
counseling.
Conduct semi-annual crime trend
reviews. Develop and update programs
accordingly.
Pinellas County: Two programs were
added, the Dream (Drug Education and
Anger Management) Program and the
JETS (Juvenile Education and
Treament Services) Program.
Pasco County: An emphasis was
placed on updating and developing
programs relating to theft crimes.
Assign professional counseling to
youth who demonstrate a need.
Pinellas County: 697 asignments
Pasco County: 164 assignments
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Juvenile
Diversion
Sixth Judicial Circuit
Objectives & Achievements
OBJECTIVE
Trends
The Truancy Teen Court
program measured school
attendance for Pinellas
County truants who
completed the program, and
statistics indicated that
truancy was reduced by 68%
in the semester following
program completion.
2005 Performance Report
ACHIEVEMENT
Accept and divert 3,800 cases,
including 300 cases related to traffic or
truancy offenses.
Pinellas County: 2,646 cases; Traffic
and Truancy: 704 cases
Pasco County: 1,026 cases
Conduct training sessions for
arbitration hearing masters and youth
volunteers.
Pinellas County: 2 sessions
Pasco County: 2 sessions
Recruit and involve a minimum of 10
youth volunteers per teen court
hearing.
Pinellas County: Average of 43 youth
volunteers per hearing
Pasco County: Average of 40 youth
volunteers per hearing
Recruit and train 30 youth volunteers
Pinellas County: 400
Pasco County: 137
Reduce truancy by 20%, measured by
school attendance by referred youths
in the semester following completion of
the program.
Pinellas County: Truancy reduced by
68% for those who completed the
program.
Pasco County: Not applicable
Teen Court will meet with each eligible
offender and parent/guardian within 30
days of program acceptance.
Pinellas County: 7-10 days
Pasco County: 10 to 14 days
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