11/09/08 Criminalizing youth. Read a father's plea to "help free my son from Florida!"

07/14/08 Don't Talk to Police!?Justice4Kids.org received a link to a video presentation by Professor James Duane and Virginia Beach Police Department Officer George Bruch. The title of the presentation is Don’t Talk to Police!  It warns that you can be convicted by talking to the police even if you are innocent and tell the truth! Talking to the police "can not help you!" Click here to view the 48-minute video. To read your rights, written by Bob Dillinger, Public Defender, 6th Circuit, click here.

Pinellas County Juvenile Justice Council - Public Meeting Schedule

Bad Apples in DJJ? No! Say it isn't so! If you learn of a DJJ bad apple, tell us: Cathy@justice4kids.org.

"Our conduct will be professional and always place the public's interest above self-interest. We will avoid any appearance of impropriety, prejudice, threats, favoritism, or undue influences." ~DJJ Mission Statement

Ever wonder why DJJ never seems to get any better? Click here... to learn how DJJ treats staff who attempt to work within the "system" to make positive changes.

Now they can read!
Justice4Kids spent nearly five years insisting that kids in Florida's Juvenile Detention Centers be allowed to read books in their sleeping rooms. As of March 10, 2006, they can!
Click here to read the DJJ memo and to learn the story behind the books. Also. read how new DJJ Secretary Peterman "petered out" when asked for help in 2002!

04/08/08 Peterman letter to DJJ Staff:
"[Justice4Kids.org has] been blocked"
~Frank Peterman, Secretary, DJJ

WOW - One year later, minus one day - Pinellas County Commissioner Calvin Harris, tells youth activist Cathy Corry to SHUT UP, same as he told school teacher Dennis Segall... what's next
09/18/06 Pinellas County Commissioner Calvin Harris tells the public to "SHUT UP" during a meeting of the Circuit 6 Juvenile Justice Board. The target of Harris's outburst was school teacher Dennis Segall, critical of the Board's activities, who spoke out of turn.
09/17/07 Pinellas County Commissioner Calvin Harris tells Cathy Corry, "You, shut up!" during a meeting of the Circuit 6 Juvenile Justice Board'

02/01/07 McNeil letter to DJJ staff:
"As...Governor Crist so eloquently has stated, this is the people’s work, and we are public servants first and foremost.  ...we will be successful only if we work cooperatively with...parents, advocacy groups, citizens...to reach our shared goals."
~Walter A. McNeil, Secretary, DJJ

01/18/07 From our servant government:
" . . . we are clueless."
~Danielle Williams, DJJ

01/18/07 From our servant government:
"It's been a long day." "We need more people." "We don't have the infrastructure like all the other branches." "All my people must run, jump and shoot." "I'm sorry if I had the flu."
~Greg Johnson, DJJ Assistant Secretary of Prevention

09/18/06 From our servant government:
"And you, shut up!"
~Calvin Harris, Pinellas County Commissioner

12/05/06 From our servant government
"Every system needs a conscience."
~Steve Casey, FL DJJ Deputy Secretary

01/30/06 From our servant government:
"The judges know what our kids need; the school system knows what the kids need; the parents don't know what these kids need."
~Jane Gallucci, Pinellas County School Board member

Watchdog of Florida's
Department of Juvenile Justice
This site was updated 03/10/2010

Our mission is to give voice to all who participate in Florida’s juvenile justice system: a voice for children, parents, and staff. Our goal is to use that voice to make the system better; to transform it into a service in which the entire community can be proud. TOGETHER, we make a difference!

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
~Martin Luther King, Jr.

Report of the Blueprint Commission now available.

10/29/07 Justice4Kids.org calls on Blueprint Commission for independent oversight of DJJ facilities

A Blueprint Commission Member
Wants to Hear from You!

On July 31, 2007, DJJ Secretary Walt McNeil announced the members of the Blueprint Commission. Among them is Carlos J. Martinez, Chief Assistant Public Defender, 11th Judicial Circuit. Martinez provided Justice4Kids.org with a look at Draft Reform Recommendations for Florida's juvenile justice system that he compiled. Click JUVENILE JUSTICE CPR. Martinez asks that if you have comments or suggestions concerning changes in Florida's juvenile justice system to email them to him at CPR@pdmiami.com.
To contact other members of the Commission, click here.

02/02/07 Judges refuse to unshackle juveniles
02/01/07 An Escambia JDC dialogue.

01/08/07 Crusading for confidentiality
FDLE sells "confidential" juvenile arrest records on-line.

Click here for more.

Greenville Hills Academy
10/14/06 New claims of abuse at boys camp

Christopher Sholly's Diary UPDATE 05/23/06

Christopher is home and he wants you to know what he and other youth experienced in DJJ and DOC facilities...
Click "Hello, Im christopher sholly..."

"[Christopher] was... 13 years old when this nightmare began, and he was sent to DJJ for fighting in school!!" -Reply to bulletin board post of 02/05/06.

Join the discussion at Yahoo Discussion Group AbuseInFloridaDJJ.

For more information on abuse in the juvenile justice system, click here.

03/10/10 Legislature should fix Dozier School for Boys or shut it now
If the Florida Legislature decides to keep open the doors of Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna, it better have a more reasonable defense than wanting to maintain jobs there. It must find a way to fix Dozier, where the state has condoned child abuse for much of the past 100 years, or it must shut the school down. [continued]

03/09/10 Lawmakers to consider: Is it time to close the Dozier School for Boys? Florida's oldest reform school has survived a century of failure and scandal. Now lawmakers once again are confronted with an uncomfortable question: Is it time to shut the place down? [continued]

02/21/10 Preteen scuffle at Pinellas County bus stop leads to arrest of 11-year-old
Ayrillyn Pierre, 11 years old, was arrested last month and charged with simple battery after a passer-by saw her and another preteen girl fighting at a bus stop.
Ayrillyn, a sixth-grader, was handcuffed three days later at Carwise Middle School and taken to the Pinellas Juvenile Assessment Center, where her mother had to come pick her up. [continued]

02/07/10 Secretary of DJJ sets a bad example Charlie Crist wants to know why so many Florida public officials are so sleazy so often. One obvious answer is that Frank Peterman still has a job. [continued]  [IG's report]

10/11/09 Area pair among Florida's youngest female inmates "Charged as an adult with unarmed carjacking, Stephanie, who was then 15 years old, landed in jail in April 2008. Soon, she would start to disappear, just another girl who, as her attorney put it, 'never really had a chance.'" Continued Also visit Kids as Adults

07/07/09 Zero tolerance for old policy  "Rather than zero tolerance, the new law sets a better goal: policies should be 100 percent appropriate." Continued... Also visit Schoolhouse to Jailhouse Track

05/21/09 Among bars for ever “No more freedom. About ten thousands offender serve in US prisons life term because of offences that they committed as teenagers; about one quarter of them without any chance to be released: life without parole.” Read this European view of juvenile justice in America. Continued... Also visit Criminalizing Youth/Kids as Adults.

10/06/08 "If you believe that your child has been harmed while in the care of the Department, we will be happy to review the case."- John Walsh, Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County. [Click here to read the complete message.]

If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention!

Abuse in DJJ? Say it isn't so! When you tell J4K of your complaints, J4K ensures that your allegations are reported for investigation. If you want J4K to help, complete an online J4K Incident Report.

"We will establish and maintain safe programs for youth that will better prepare them for adulthood." ~DJJ Mission Statement

Justin Caldwell was at the Dozier ISP when, on February 11, 2007, a guard violently, and without apparent provocation, threw him to the floor. To watch the video record, click here.

11/27/07 Teen Sentenced for Battering Guard

11/08/07 Trial verdict comments from Isabelle Zehnder, CAICA)

04/28/07 Imprisoned since 13, an adult Justin Caldwell remains walled in

04/17/07 Justin Caldwell abused at Dozier School for Boys: The Truth
Justin Caldwell, an 18-year old boy, has been incarcerated in the Florida Juvenile Justice System since he was 13. What should have been a 12-15 month stay in a residential treatment center to allegedly “help” Justin turned into a five-year nightmare.

To read more of more cases, click Abuse!

Who would believe that DJJ's DOVE ACADEMY in GRACEVILLE, Florida would look like this?

06/09/07 Juvenile facilities rated among state's worst

Government run amok!

It's the law: Florida gets a $4000 bounty for each adopted child. Click here for details.

11/24/07 Father of five loses battle for parental rights

11/11/07 State to parents: We know best for kids

08/09/07 Despite lack of charges, man loses four children
Bill Stone, TAMPA BAY SUN

Pinellas County leads state in number of children taken from families

[Greg Pound's] three children were taken from him after the second-youngest suffered an attack by a relative's dog. The court is seeking to terminate Pound's parental rights... His wife remains on the run more than a year after disappearing with their youngest child...to prevent the state from taking custody. Pound has no criminal record in Pinellas County and has not been charged with any crime. He maintains the state is dead wrong regarding the handling of his case.
Click here to read the complete article.
For more testimony, visit FreeOurKids.com.

Click here to send a message to your representatives.

Shawn Smith, Danny Matthews, Omar Paisley, and Martin Anderson never met but they did have things in common: they were boys; they were in their teens; and they died while in the custody and care of the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice.

Click on a picture of each boy to read more.