Juvenile arrest informaiton is secure and confidential. Information on a particular juvenle processed at the facility can only be released to the parent or legal guardian of the juvenile. To determine if your child has been arrested, please contact 305-755-6130.

There are several factors that determine the length of time before an arrested juvenile is released from the facility. These factors include severity of charge, age, number of youth in custody, and 24 hour detention hearing court calendar mandates. On average, the process may take between six to eight hours.

The JSD incorporates the Juvenile Assessment Center (JAC), which is the centralized processing, referral and evaluation center for all juveniles arrested in Miami-Dade County and is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Upon arrival, the arrested juvenile goes through the intake and screening process.  Please click here to view more information about this process.  When applicable, the JSD arranges transportation for those juveniles required to be sent to the Miami-Dade County Detention Center.  Eligible juveniles are referred to diversion services based on their needs and their cases handled by a JSD case manager.  For all program and services, please click here.  Lastly, the JSD’s provides services to juvenile at-risk of entering the justice system through the Civil Citation Initiative.  Please click here to learn more about Civil Citation.

Yes. All arrested juveniles are required to be processed at the JAC facility.

The JSD concept allows representatives from law enforcement and social services to work together under one roof to provide a complete range of services and programs at the initial stages of the juvenile’s involvement with the Juvenile Justice System.  This has proven to be an efficient model of processing that has allowed the State of Florida and local communities to achieve system and fiscal efficiencies.  Improvements are realized in available patrol time and police service.  Savings in man hours translates to more officers on the streets and in our neighborhoods where they are needed most. Through improvements in technology, the JSD automated fingerprint identification system allows a positive identification to be accomplished on all juveniles brought into the facility.  This capability also allows the fingerprints of arrested juveniles to be compared against those taken from the scene of unsolved crimes, with the results available in just minutes.  Unquestionably, this will result in the solution of more crimes.  Key agencies are working together in one facility utilizing one common database to gather information on arrested juveniles, reducing duplication of effort and promoting cost efficiency in the information gathering process. Those savings, of course, prove to be secondary to the positive impact on troubled children and their families.  The programs offered at the JSD help arrested children and their families by offering need-specific services to keep them from returning to the juvenile justice system.

The opportunity to Seal or Expunge a criminal record is offered twice only, to juvenile diversion offenders who are eligible.  If offenders are ineligible for the diversion programs, they are entitled to one seal or expunge record based on the charge and disposition.  Juvenile diversion expunction is an administrative process and does not require filing a petition with the court or obtaining a Certificate of Eligibility from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE).   If your child participated in one of the JSD diversion programs, please ask the case manager assigned to your child for more information, including a complete application package.  If your child did not participate in a diversion program, he/she may still qualify for seal/expungement.  The necessary documents are available from the Miami-Dade County Clerk of Courts Office, Juvenile Division located at 3300 NW 27 Avenue, Miami, FL.  For additional information, please contact the Clerk of Courts at 305-638-6227.
 

Civil Citation is a countywide initiative that began in April 2007, which targets all children ages 8-17 who have committed a minor misdemeanor offense and offers them the opportunity to receive an assessment and appropriate, targeted interventions without the stigma of an arrest. The arresting officer will refer eligible juveniles to receive Civil Citation services at the JSD.  Much like a diversion program, the juvenile is assigned a case worker and required to complete sanctions however the arrest is dismissed and never enters the Criminal Justice Information System.  All 35 local police departments have agreed to participate in this initiative.  For more information on this service, please click here.