05/01/08 Should juvenile offenders be shackled in court? Total: 46; Always: 30 (65%); Sometimes: 12 (26%); Never: 4 (8%) Duration: 4/25/08- 5/1/08

04/23/08 Should there be independent civilian oversight of Florida’s juvenile detention centers and residential facilities?
Total: 34; Yes: 17 (50%), No: 17 (50%), Duration of poll: 04/16/08-04/23/08.

04/14/08 Should the Department of Juvenile Justice merge Detention and Residential into a single division? Total votes: 28; Yes: 12 (42%), No: 16 (57%); Duration of poll: 04/11/08-04/14/08.

04/11/08 Should the Department of Juvenile Justice merge with the Department of Corrections?
Total: 68; Yes: 36 (52%), No: 32 (47%) Duration of poll: 04/04/08-04/11/08.

Watchdog of Florida's Department of Juvenile Justice
This site was updated 05/07/2008

05/07/08 J4K helps right a wrong...read of the Honorable Behavior of DJJ's William Myrick.

04/29/08 Help free my son from Florida! - To read about this case of on-going judicial abuse of a 9 year old boy, click here.

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.

10/21/07 Hastings troubled-youth facility has troubles of its own: A youth-care worker is arrested for trying to sell marijuana. A worker is charged with pulling a knife on a 16-year-old. A worker is fired after sexual touching with a 16-year-old... ~Times Union

01/16/08 St. Petersburg Times Steve Bousquet writes "Successor to McNeil: Ex-Rep Gus Barreiro"

JUSTICE 4 JUSTIN

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, click Abuse!

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

02/02/08 More principal, less police

01/20/08 When students are suspects, lines blur

01/12/07 Boy, 7, arrested after throwing backpack

07/14/06 School Officials Promote Fast Track to Incarceration

06/13/06 Police want to stay in schools

06/01/06 Letter from Schembri to Justice4Kids.org
"It is the Department's goal to continue working with local school boards...in finding alternatives to placing kids in the juvenile justice system..."
Click here to read the full text.

05/26/06 Safe-Place Blog
School Board meeting of 05/23/06

03/19/06 Miami Herald
"... the 11th Circuit Juvenile Justice Board have lobbied school leaders for alternatives to arresting students. In November, the Miami-Dade School Board approved a civil citation initiative, which officials believe will curb a majority of the arrests.

'By law we can make the arrest, but by conscience do you have to arrest?'' asked schools Police Chief Gerald Darling, who is leading the citation initiative."
Click here to read more of the article.

Cry of innocence gets school girl arrested

13 year-old Ashley Marie Mitchell proclaimed her innocence to a cop on a Pinellas County school bus. She was promptly handcuffed. Overzealous cops create sensational news stories. In May, when a Pinellas kindergartener was handcuffed,  Pinellas County School Superintendent Wilcox said, "We've criminalized what use to be common school behaviour. We need to stop that."

Also read
EDUCATION ON LOCKDOWN: The Schoolhouse to Jailhouse Track Advancement Project March 2005 report

ARRESTING DEVELOPMENT: Addressing the School Discipline Crisis in Florida
Florida State Conference NAACP, Advancement Project, and the
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF). April 20, 2006

Read Christopher Sholly's Diary. This is a first hand account of a ride down the track.

From the St. Petersburg Times...
05/18/06 How bad are kids? Just ask teachers
11/30/05 Handcuffs on 13-year-old 'excessive,' parents say
12/01/05 Girl, 13 unlikely to be charged
12/03/05 Wilcox sees fault on both sides in handcuffing
12/05/05 Bus drivers should not let officers board
12/19/05 Stop criminalizing misbehaviors
12/24/05 Children need discipline

_____________________

01/28/06 I will like to speak up on the issue...

Pinellas County Schools

"We've criminalized what use to be common school behavior. We need to stop that."  ~Clayton Wilcox.
"Jackson faults elementary care", St. Petersburg Times, 5/11/05

Clayton Wilcox, Pinellas County School Superintendent invites us to visit his website and send him our thoughts. Let's take him up on his offer!

Click here to visit his website

Click here to visit the Classroom hosted by the St. Petersburg Times.

We've been Duped!
Those juvenile arrest records you've been told were "confidential": they're not!

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

09/17/07 Pinellas County Commissioner Calvin Harris tells Cathy Corry, "You, shut up!" during a meeting of the Circuit 6 Juvenile Justice Board'

Government run amok!

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.

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.

 http://www.clerkofcourts.com/mpa/cvweb2.asp?ucase_id=16752255

08/01/06 J4K to DJJ: NO DUI

"JUSTICE4KIDS.ORG requests that DJJ immediately place Pinellas JDC Superintendent James Uliasz on administrative leave pending the outcome of a DUI charge resulting from his arrest last week in Manatee County."

To read the complete email from Corry to Caballero, click here.

"Incarcerated youth can not be considered safe and secure if the leader of the facility is a public drunk." ~Concerned Citizen 08/02/06

08/02/06 Cathy Corry, Justice4Kids.org, and volunteer advocates protest in front of the Pinellas Regional Juvenile Detention Center.
To learn more about the protest, click here.

08/03/06 Juvenile justice official accused of DUI. St. Petersburg Times.

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

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

08/29/06 Fix the detention center (Appellate court dismissed DJJ's whine)
08/15/06 DJJ Office May Benefit Polk
06/26/06 DJJ Bulletin Board: Why did the DJJ/company big shots at the big crisis task-force meeting...not meet in Echo,Delta or Bravo buildings...these stinky, moldy buildings are ok for the kids and staff ;but not ok for the DJJ/company brass.
06/20/06 Fight Ignites Fears for Safety

Health Assessment of
Polk Juvenile Correctional Facility

Was your child detained at the Polk Juvenile Correctional Facility at any time between 2002 and 2006?

If so, your child was probably exposed to toxic mold.

Parents and guardians should demand disclosure of all environmental hazards and/or potential health risks that occurred during the period of the youth's incarceration. Here is an excerpt from an letter to Dr. Shairi Turner, Chief Medical Director, Department of Juvenile Justice  from Wesley Nall, Environmental Supervisor, Polk County Health Department dated April 6, 2006:

If you have concerns about this serious health issue, contact:

To learn more, click here.

10/30/06 'Systemic' Flaws Found in Florida Juvenile Court System

10/24/06 Cathy Corry's presentation to the Pinellas County School Board

10/23/06 Legal defenses deficient for Florida kids, report claims

On the record

JDOs fired after meeting with
DJJ Director Robert Raggett
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.

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.

Justice4kids in the NEWS

FLORIDA MATTERS  "Does Florida’s Boot Camp System Work?"  WUSF 89.7 FM, NPR, 03/31/06

The death of 14-year old Martin Lee Anderson at a youth boot camp in Bay County has many Floridians wondering about the need for and effectiveness of military-style youth boot camps.

Host Carson Cooper discusses the pros and cons of juvenile boot camps in Florida along with their possible future with
   Manatee County Sheriff Charlie Wells
   Cathy Corry of Justice4kids.org
   Professor Robert Batey of Stetson University School of Law

Sheriff Charlie Wells        Cathy Corry       Professor Robert Batey

THE EDGE with host Tom Smith on HAWK Radio 1520AM. Do the people in charge of juvenile justice here just hate kids or do they have an axe to grind with society in general?

In 2006, we explored the latest fad of juvenile injustice in the state of Florida:
The Schoolhouse to Jailhouse Track.

In 2005 we exposed the crushing of the First Amendment by Chair Jackie Griffin-Doherty at the July 28, 2005 public meeting of the Pinellas County Juvenile Justice Council (Griffin-Doherty abruptly resigned, without notice, five months later).

The Edge can be heard every Thursday morning, 11a.m. to Noon EST on WXYB 1520AM in the Tampa Bay area or at http://www.hawkradio.com  on the internet! [Cathy with Tom Smith, host of The Edge, on July 7, 2005.]

To listen to interviews with Cathy, click here.

FLA LAW - BrightHouse Channel 47 St. Petersburg
Airs in 7 Tampa Bay area counties
October 29, 2003...FLA-LAW on Bright House Network Ch47 in St. Petersburg, FL.
Seated from left to right are Attorney Greg Perenich, moderator Craig Patrick and j4k's Cathy Corry. For more information about Attorney Greg Perenich, click here.

Criminal Justice Radio - click to hear archived interview:
The State of Juvenile Justice with host Frank Kopczynski
Guest: Cathy Corry & Dennis Segal
Category: Prison Issues Air Date: 2003

CNN's Wolf Blitzer interviews Cathy Corry
about the King brothers' plea Nov. 14, 2002.

Our children need your voice!

If you have information regarding abuse, neglect, harassment, intimidation or discrimination of children in any state or local governmental institution, please contact justice4kids.org at
727-799-9762, or
click Contacts

Children in some of Florida's Juvenile Justice Facilities are told to sign statements stating they are able to care for themselves in case of an emergency!

I am capable and willing to be responsible for myself in the event of an emergency such as a fire, storm, or accident.

I agree to not harm myself or others and to not attempt suicide. At the present time, I do not have any thoughts or plans to hurt myself or others.

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Truth on a
T-Shirt:
"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be misquoted and used against you!"

Warning to Parents: Get EVERYTHING in writing!
Click here to find out why...

NOT GUILTY!

This is not legal advice...just suggested action based on almost everything we've heard and experienced:

DO NOT PLEAD GUILTY

ALWAYS initially plead NOT GUILTY. You can always change your NOT GUILTY plea to GUILTY, but you can't easily change your GUILTY plea to NOT GUILTY. What this means is to never instantly plead guilty, even if you thought you were in any way guilty of anything.  Some very honorable (and innocent) people have been caught in many traps by the system by quickly pleading guilty.

Many of the "system" people will tell you something that just is not true, so for various reasons, it is in your best interest to wait many days or weeks before changing your 'not guilty' plea.

Six Myths told to parents about their "unmanageable teen": “Knock his teeth down his throat!”; “Send him to boot camp!”; “Emancipate him!”; “We’ll take him to JDC!”; “Kick him out!”; and “When he’s eighteen, throw him out!” Click here to go to My Word and read Myths.

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