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The 25-member Blueprint Commission recommended:
- The state of Florida needs to invest in a continuum of services that can provide the right services at the right time in the least-restrictive environment, while continuing to provide serious sanctions for youth involved in serious and violent crime, where appropriate.
Florida should invest in community-based programs that help keep kids out of trouble.
Florida should develop alternative programs and interventions at the community level to prevent youth who do not pose a public safety or flight risk from placement in secure detention.
For those youth who require commitment to residential facilities, Florida should provide facilities that are small, that provide good educational and skill-building programs, and that best prepare youth for return to their communities.
Florida must provide gender-specific programming that effectively addresses the needs of girls in the juvenile justice system. And it must address the disproportionate presence of minorities in the system.
Florida must provide adequate resources to meet the mental and physical health needs of youth in the juvenile justice system.
Florida must invest in the human resources that provide direct care services to youth in the system and develop a more professional and stable workforce.
And at every point, Florida should implement only those programs and strategies that are evidence-based, that have been demonstrated to be effective in protecting public safety while at the same time providing an optimum future for our youth.
The Blueprint Commission was developed in response to several key concerns including juvenile recidivism, the overrepresentation of minority youths and alarming growth trends involving girls. Comprised of community leaders, juvenile justice stakeholders and policy experts and chaired by Florida Atlantic University President and former Lieutenant Governor Frank Brogan, the Blueprint Commission conducted six public hearings across the state and invited input from stakeholders and interested citizens. The Commission was created with support from the Eckerd Family Foundation, the JEHT Foundation and the Jessie Ball duPont Fund to address the growing concerns about alarming trends in Florida’s juvenile justice system. For more information, click here.