Subject:
Title
Approval, RE: Crosswinds Youth Services’ Juvenile Assessment Center (JAC) Annual Contract ($208,815)
End
Fiscal Impact:
FY23-24: There is no additional impact to the General Fund. $208,815 is included in the Housing and Human Services’ approved budget in Fund 1406, Cost Center 290701. The budgeted funds are a mixture of General Revenue and court costs (as authorized in Florida Statute 939.185).
Dept/Office:
Housing and Human Services
Requested Action:
Recommendation
It is requested that the Board of County Commissioners:
1. Approve the draft annual contract for the Juvenile Assessment Center (JAC) through Crosswinds Youth Services, Inc.,
2. Authorize the County Manager to endorse the contract upon approval of the County Attorney and Risk Management,
3. Authorize the County Manager to sign amendments, modifications, and renewals, and
4. Authorize the County Manager to approve any related budget change requests.
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Summary Explanation and Background:
The Brevard County Juvenile Assessment Center (JAC) was established in December 1998 as a result of collaboration with the Judiciary, the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, the County, and other municipalities. JACs are authorized by Florida Statute 985.135 and over the years, JAC program design has changed to meet shifting community needs and as of today, the JAC is part of the Crosswinds Youth Services, Inc. (CYS) campus in Cocoa, Florida as an unsecured facility. Their overarching mission remains the same: to ensure that all referred Brevard County youth in need of services, including those who are arrested and those at risk of delinquency, receive a comprehensive assessment and services. The only youth who are not accepted are youth in need of immediate medical, mental health, and/or substance abuse treatment or are detainable after arrest. After a youth is cleared medically or psychiatrically, he/she can be served at the JAC.
JAC services include, as necessary, the following:
• Intake to help determine the youth’s immediate needs
• Screening to help identify possible risk factors
• Civil Citation services and support
• Assessments detailing the youth and family history; suicide ideation if any; substance use; educational concerns; and other service needs
• Life skills groups, covering issues such as anger management, gang resistance, and other essential skills
• Crisis counseling
• Referrals to Crosswinds and other community programs if indicated
• Transportation
• In-home assessments for families without transportation
• Follow-up for all families 30 days after case closing and again at 180 days
Before the JAC began operating, Law Enforcement Officers, on average, spent four hours off the street supervising and processing arrested youth. Since the inception of the JAC, the majority of officers spend less than 15 minutes off the streets. As a result, there is a significant increase in the number of hours these officers spend patrolling and thereby increasing public safety.
Savings to Brevard County are occurring via the Brevard Regional Juvenile Detention Center (BRJDC). In 2005, the Florida Legislature shifted the cost of detention care for juveniles for the period of time prior to final court disposition to the county through Florida Statute 985.2155. In Brevard, the average length of stay in the BRJDC is eleven days (see attached Brevard Juvenile Detention Center report), but youth can stay for up to twenty-one days pre-adjudication. According to the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, it costs $249.11 per day to house a youth in the BRJDC (see attached FY 23 - 24 Detention Cost Share report) or on average, $2,740.21 per juvenile per stay. CYS proposes to serve and divert 175 youth per year at a cost of $1,193.23 per youth (43.5% of the cost of an average stay at the BRJDC) or $208,815 per year. The cost of secure detention for the same 175 juvenile would be $479,538.
Prior to executing the FY 2023 - 2024 contract with CYS a request from CYS was made to the Brevard County Clerk of Court to conduct an audit of their operations. Per a meeting with the Clerk’s audit staff, there were minor issues identified and, most significantly, a recommendation to change the reimbursement contract with the County to a fee for service or unit cost model. The attached draft contract is retroactive to October 2023, to include costs incurred by CYS prior to the pausing of any contractual service payments due to contract modifications resulting from the Clerk’s audit and incorporating the Clerk’s recommendation of utilizing a unit cost contract.
Clerk to the Board Instructions:
None