Juvenile Detention Cost Split Moves Forward

March 1, 2016

A Senate committee Monday continued moving forward with a plan aimed at ending years of legal fights with counties — including Escambia and Santa Rosa — about sharing juvenile-detention costs.

But Senate sponsor Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, said a key will be getting all counties subject to the costs to agree to drop litigation and create a “clean slate.” Latvala told the Senate Rules Committee that all but two counties have agreed to such a condition, though he did not identify the counties.

Monday’s approval by the Rules Committee prepares the bill (SB 1322) to go to the full Senate. The bill would restructure the cost-sharing system for juvenile detention costs, leading to a 50-50 split between counties and the state. The legal fights in recent years have centered on arguments that the state has shifted too much of the tab for juvenile detention to the counties. The effect of the bill is that counties would pay a total of $42.5 million during the upcoming 2016-17 fiscal year, down from $54.3 million this year, according to a Senate staff analysis.

The dispute affects 38 counties. The remaining 29 counties are considered “fiscally constrained” and aren’t required to contribute to juvenile-detention costs.

by the News Service of Florida

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News