63D-2.001: Purpose and Scope
63D-2.002: Procedure for Assessing Risk
63D-2.003: Detention Risk Assessment Instrument
PURPOSE AND EFFECT: The proposed rule specifies the requirements and criteria that govern a juvenile probation officer’s assessment of the risk posed by a child in custody when making the initial detention determination.
SUMMARY: The proposed rule establishes the procedure for assessing risk, including the considerations that determine whether a child is subject to detention, and the form of the detention.
SUMMARY OF ESTIMATED REGULATORY COSTS: No Statement of Estimated Regulatory Cost was prepared.
Any person who wishes to provide information regarding a statement of estimated regulatory costs, or provide a proposal for a lower cost regulatory alternative must do so in writing within 21 days of this notice.
SPECIFIC AUTHORITY: 20.316, 985.405, 985.213 FS.
LAW IMPLEMENTED: 985.213 FS.
IF REQUESTED WITHIN 21 DAYS OF THE DATE OF THIS NOTICE, A HEARING WILL BE HELD AT THE DATE,TIME AND PLACE SHOWN BELOW(IF NOT REQUESTED, THIS HEARING WILL NOT BE HELD):
TIME AND DATE: November 13, 2006, 10:00 a.m.
PLACE: DJJ Headquarters, Knight Building, General Counsel’s Conference Room 312, 2737 Centerview Drive, Tallahassee, Florida
THE PERSON TO BE CONTACTED REGARDING THE PROPOSED RULE IS: Clyde Benedix, Policy Development Officer, Department of Juvenile Justice, Office of Administration, 2737 Centerview Drive, Ste. 104, Tallahassee, FL 32399-3100, phone number (850)921-4116
THE FULL TEXT OF THE PROPOSED RULE IS:
63D-2.001 Purpose and Scope.
The rule specifies the requirements and criteria that govern a screener’s assessment of the risk posed by a child when making the initial detention determination.
Specific Authority 985.213, 985.405 FS. Law Implemented 985.213 FS. History–New__________.
63D-2.002 Procedure for Assessing Risk.
(1) The Detention Risk Assessment Instrument (DRAI) directs the decision-making process as to whether detention care is warranted and whether the youth should be placed into secure detention, home detention, or some other form of non-secure detention status.
(2) The Admissions Criteria in Section II of the DRAI must be completed for all youths brought to the screening location. A completed DRAI is required for all youths who are delivered to the Department for detention screening.
(3) If a youth is presented for detention screening on non-detainable law violations, the screener is only required to complete sections I, II, V, and VI of the DRAI. If a youth is presented for detention screening on law violations, technical violations of probation, or court orders that hold the potential for secure detention, the screener must complete the entire DRAI accordingly.
(4) In making the decision to detain or release a youth, the screener must take several key factors into consideration:
(a) The placement decision must be based upon an independent assessment of risk as determined by the DRAI. To ensure equality of treatment, supervisors must ensure that screeners, in performing their duties, do not discriminate based upon race, culture, gender, religion, ethnic origin, disability, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status.
(b) The screener must attempt to contact the parent(s)/guardian(s), arresting law enforcement officer, victim, and others who have knowledge of the youth to obtain their assessment of the youth and the pending charge(s).
(c) The screener must check the Juvenile Justice Information System (JJIS) and, if possible, the Department of Children and Families client information system HomeSafenet (HSN) and Florida Criminal Investigation Center/National Criminal Investigation Center (FCIC/NCIC) systems, to obtain a prior history on the youth. Only eligible certified DJJ, law enforcement, or criminal justice employees are allowed to conduct checks on the HSN or FCIC/NCIC system.
(5) Section III-B of the DRAI is intended to score additional, current, separate, non-related offenses with which the youth is charged, and which are not accounted for in section III-A referencing the most serious current offense.
(6) Section III-E of the DRAI, which scores aggravating or mitigating factors, allows the screener to take into account relevant issues that are not scored in other parts of the DRAI, ensuring the appropriateness of detention and release decisions.
(a) The screener must consider any aggravating and mitigating circumstances that may exist.
(b) Because the DRAI is intended to be an independent and objective measure of the risk posed by each youth, the decision to either aggravate or mitigate must not be determined by pressures from outside influences.
(c) The screener should never consider factors that are already accounted for in the DRAI, such as the absence of prior offenses, or the seriousness of the charge.
(d) The screener must fully explain what factors were considered in the section VI narrative portion of the DRAI.
(7) When the screener believes that a youth who is otherwise eligible for detention should be released, he or she must contact the state attorney to approve the release, as set out in DRAI section IV. The screener must document the reasons for the recommendation in narrative section VI. The state attorney may also approve home or non-secure detention for a youth who scores eligible for secure detention.
Specific Authority 985.213, 985.405 FS. Law Implemented 985.213 FS. History–New__________.
63D-2.003 Detention Risk Assessment Instrument.
The Detention Risk Assessment Instrument shall be as set forth in DJJ Form 2049 (02/2005), which is incorporated herein, and is available from the Assistant Secretary for Probation and Community Corrections at 2737 Centerview Dr., Suite 105, Tallahassee, FL 32399-3100.
Specific Authority 985.213, 985.405 FS. Law Implemented 985.213 FS. History–New__________.