summary
Introduced
12/16/2025
12/16/2025
In Committee
01/05/2026
01/05/2026
Crossed Over
Passed
Dead
Introduced Session
2026 Regular Session
Bill Summary
An act relating to juvenile justice; amending s. 985.455, F.S.; requiring a court to determine, for any delinquent child committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice, the minimum period of time rather than an indeterminate period of time for the child to remain in a commitment program; requiring that the delinquent child remain in the commitment program until he or she has completed it; revising provisions relating to an objective performance-based treatment plan; deleting a prohibition on extending a child’s length of stay in the program for purposes of sanction or punishment; amending s. 985.465, F.S.; revising the age at which children who have been adjudicated on specified offenses may be committed to maximum-risk residential facilities to include children who are at least 10 years of age; conforming provisions to changes made by the act; reenacting ss. 985.35(4)(b) and 985.565(4)(b), F.S., relating to adjudicatory hearings for children and sentencing alternatives for juveniles prosecuted as adults, respectively, to incorporate the amendment made to s. 985.455, F.S., in references thereto; providing an effective date.
AI Summary
This bill modifies Florida's juvenile justice statutes to change how juvenile commitment programs are structured and which children can be placed in maximum-risk residential facilities. The bill requires courts to determine a specific minimum time period for a juvenile's commitment to a Department of Juvenile Justice program, mandating that the child must remain in the program until completing it, and eliminating the previous indeterminate time framework. The legislation also lowers the age at which children can be committed to maximum-risk residential facilities from 13 to 10 years old, specifically for serious offenses like murder or manslaughter. Additionally, the bill removes language that previously prohibited extending a child's stay in a commitment program for punishment purposes and instead focuses on objective performance-based treatment plans. The changes aim to provide more structured rehabilitation approaches for juvenile offenders, with a particular emphasis on tailoring commitment programs to individual progress and specific offense severity. The bill will take effect on July 1, 2026, allowing time for juvenile justice systems to prepare for these procedural changes.
Sponsors (1)
Last Action
Introduced (on 01/13/2026)
Official Document
bill text
bill summary
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bill summary
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bill summary
| Document Type | Source Location |
|---|---|
| State Bill Page | https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2026/918 |
| BillText | https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2026/918/BillText/Filed/HTML |
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