State to reform juvenile justice system
But leaves Southwest Florida off the 25-member committee
BY _JEFF _CULL jcull@florida-weely.com

Florida announced a plan last week to reform the juvenile justice system that was rocked by the death of a 14-year-old boy in a juvenile boot camp in 2006.

That was good news to local experts in teen crime but left some Southwest Florida advocates cold.

The 25 members appointed by Secretary Walter McNeil to a "Blueprint Commission" represent every area of the state except Southwest Florida.

And that's just the latest in a long line of rebuffs to local juvenile justice efforts.

Frank Busbee, a chief probation officer for the Department of Juvenile Justice in Fort Myers said that Southwest Florida gets the least amount of money, per capita, for substance abuse and mental health for kids.

Carol Helton, a member of the Lee County Juvenile Justice Council, said our area isn't represented on the State Advisory Group that awards federal grants to combat juvenile crime and "hasn't had a representative for awhile."

She said Collier County juvenile advocates are asking legislators for a bill requiring all areas of the state be represented.

Overall, Southwest Florida gets little state help battling the rising juvenile crime problem.

That was a hot topic in last Thursday's Lee County Juvenile Justice Council meeting where members questioned the state for leaving Southwest Florida out of the juvenile justice loop.

Some even questioned the expertise of some members McNeil selected to the "Blueprint Commission," which includes a bank president, a regional president of Blue Cross & Blue Shield, a tax accountant, a surgeon, the Gadsden County manager, and the city manager of Deltona.

"We don't have the community based services that other areas have," she said. "So a lot of kids will end up in commitment programs."

- said Carol Helton, a member of the

Lee County Juvenile Justice Council

State officials defended McNeil's "Commission" choices.

"Obviously, there are a number of people around the state who have expertise in juvenile justice," said Donna O'Neal, Chief of State for the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice. "With 25 seats it was difficult to address all the areas. We tried to get folks from different areas of the state."

Even though the Lee County area was left off the commission, the panel will meet in Fort Myers on Oct. 17 and 18 to listen to advocates and the public.

"We will be inviting local people with expertise to provide presentations to the committee," O'Neal said.

But that did little to ease the angst over not having a local representative on commission.

Helton added that Southwest Florida has other unique problems in the juvenile justice arena.

"We don't have the community based services that other areas have," she said. "So a lot of kids will end up in commitment programs."

Busbee agreed.

He said that our area lacks significant early intervention programs and the money to implement other programs.

"We could make a big impact in crime if we had the resources available," Busbee said.

The Commission was developed in response to several key concerns. Juvenile recidivism, the overrepresentation of minority youths, and alarming trends involving girls - who comprise the fastest-growing segment of the juvenile justice population - are some of the issues Florida's juvenile justice system currently faces.

"Together with the Blueprint Commission, the Department of Juvenile Justice is taking an important step forward in reforming our juvenile justice system," said McNeil. "We recognize that the success of our efforts depends upon public input and the participation of stakeholders from the local community who can best identify areas for change."

In January, Gov. Charlie Crist appointed McNeil, a former Tallahassee police chief, to head the agency after it was rocked by the death of Martin Lee Anderson, 14. He died in a Pensacola hospital after he had been roughed up by guards at the Panama City juvenile boot camp operated by the Bay County Sheriff's Office as part of a state program.

The Legislature abolished the militaristic boot camp program. ¦