In partnership with Miami-Dade County Association of Chiefs of Police and the Office of the State Attorney, the JSD implemented a countywide Civil Citation Initiative that reforms the protocol on how police and the community address juvenile first-time misdemeanor offender. All eligible juveniles will be referred to the same evidence-based, customized, and proven services available to arrested youth, without the arrest. Since the program's inception in April 2007, there have been over 1,300 citations as of February 2008.
The JSD reduced juvenile arrests 36% from the year 2000 (15,282) to 2007 (9,750).
Total number of repeat offenders decreased 78% from 1998 to 2007. In 1998, 67% of arrested juveniles were repeat offenders. In 2007, only 25% were repeat offenders.
Highlighted in President's National Drug Control Strategy, March 2004, as one of only 5 local programs. Though the JAC was, at the time, an arrest processing facility, it was recognized for "Intervening Early".
The JSD has received an unprecedented seven congressional earmarks totaling $4.4 million.
Selected to participate in The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) 25 Cities Project to pilot new and innovative methods at addressing substance abuse through a partnership with Informed Families to provide parent training along with the Post Arrest Diversion Program (PAD) to prevent re-arrest.
Participant in the Federal Gang Reduction Program to reduce and prevent gang membership in the Haitian community in partnership with the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice and the North Miami Beach Police Department.
The JSD has implemented a new research based process to continue to impact recidivism by developing a new protocol to serve young offenders (12 years old and under). The explicit goal of the Young Offenders Process (YOP) is to provide a coordinated system of service delivery for young offenders that is sensitive to their unique developmental needs and that reduces their risk for re-offending. In partnership with the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) and the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), the JSD applies research-based assessment tools and case management protocols and intends for the model for serving this population to be implemented statwide and nationally.
The JAC has documented the increasing number of girls arrested each year and in recognition of the special needs of girls, a Girls Advisory Group of local stakeholders has been formed and meets regularly to identify data trends with girls’ arrest trends, appropriate services for girls and funding opportunities. Specialized training for system stakeholders and providers was conducted by a national expert, funded by the National Demonstration Project (NDP) to raise the skill level of staff in the entire community and how they serve female offenders. The JSD anticipates using its NDP to evaluate the local Girls Advocacy Program, the only program serving detained girls in the State of Florida and thereby establish a model for replication statewide.
