Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill rewriting laws that govern the state Department of Juvenile Justice, reinforcing an emphasis on prevention, intervention and the rehabilitation of youthful offenders.
The measure (HB 7055) formalizes the department’s strategy of shifting funds to prevention programs, with the aim of keeping kids out of the juvenile system in the first place. It creates criminal penalties for abusing or neglecting teens of all ages in the department’s custody and requires DJJ to provide the Legislature with annual reports on the outcomes for all its programs.
