OJJDP
 

Florida Children in Need of Services (CINS), Families in Need of Services (FINS)


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Intervention:
Florida requires pre–court diversion and intervention services for alleged status offenders and their families before court involvement is even an option. In 1987 the Florida State Legislature established the Children and Families in Need of Services (CINS/FINS) program to provide family-oriented prevention services for status offenders (youths 10 to 17 years old who are troubled, truant, ungovernable, or runaways). The statute describes what diversion services must be offered to youth and families before a status offender petition is filed in court. Court involvement is limited to cases where voluntary services were exhausted and unsuccessful. One of the main goals of the CINS/FINS program is to keep at-risk youth from entering the child welfare or juvenile justice systems by providing a continuum of services to strengthen and stabilize families.

The system is administered by Florida’s Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). DJJ contracts with the Florida Network of Youth and Families Services, Inc. (also known as the Florida Network), which is a statewide association representing 31 community-based nonprofit organizations who provide a variety of specialized services and programs for status offenders and their families. Services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and may include outreach, centralized intake, shelter/respite care, nonresidential care, case/court management, staff secure placements or physically secure placements, intensive crisis counseling, and parent training.

Most parents and youths are referred for prevention services by law enforcement or school staff. When a parent or guardian first makes contact with the DJJ or a Network agency about a child who is displaying status-offending behavior, the parent or guardian is provided with immediate crisis counseling to assess the needs of the family and youth and to determine their eligibility for services. Families who seek voluntary diversion services are identified as “families in need of services,” or FINS. Through a voluntary agreement, a variety of services (including those mentioned above) are provided by a community agency in the Florida Network. Youths receiving FINS services are not under the custody of DJJ but remain under the custody of their parents or guardians.

If diversion and prevention services do not sufficiently address the status-offending behavior, a representative from the Florida Network service provider will request a “case staffing,” which is a multidisciplinary meeting involving the parents and youth, school staff, a representative from the DJJ, and any other family advocates involved in the case. The goals are to create a new service plan of action for the youth and family and to avoid involvement in the courts. If the family and youth accept the new plan, the case manager provides more intensive supervision to assist them through the remainder of the process. If the plan is not accepted or if the familial and behavioral issues continue to go unresolved, only then may a CINS (“children in need of services”) petition be filed with the court.

Services under FINS are voluntary. By contrast, when a CINS petition is filed with the court, the youth is under court-order to participate in services. Violation of a court order may result in detention or placement in a staff secure shelter placement, where more supervision and additional services are provided for up to 120 days. If this option fails, the youth may be detained or placed in a locked, physically secure mental health facility for up to 120 days—but this last option is seldom used.

Legislation (HB 709) passed in 1999 clarified the criteria under which placement in physically secure facilities may be allowed in CINS cases. The law made clear that secure detention of a CINS youth was a placement of last resort, and was only allowed when all options with less-restrictive residential placements had failed. That way, status offenders stay out of secure detention unless all other alternatives to placement have been exhausted and prove ineffective. However, most FINS cases usually do not require a CINS court petition. In the past few years, only about 5 percent of FINS cases were petitioned in court as CINS cases.

Evaluation Methodology:
Information about CINS and FINS cases were compiled for the annual Comprehensive Accountability Report presented to the state officials. Information was provided the Department of Juvenile Justice as well as the Florida Network of Youth and Family Services.

Evaluation Outcome:
The Florida DJJ’s 2008 Comprehensive Accountability Report examined the success rate of all CINS/FINS prevention programs during fiscal years 2006 and 2007. The report found the following:

  • Youths spent an average of 13 days in residential (shelter) care.

  • 91 percent of youths completed the CINS/FINS nonresidential services, and 87 percent completed CINS/FINS residential services.

  • 1 percent of youths in residential services and 5 percent of youths in nonresidential services committed another offense during CINS/FINS service program.

  • 14 percent of youths in residential services and 6 percent of youths in nonresidential services re-offended within the juvenile or adult system within 6 months of completing CINS/FINS service programs.

    Cost Information
    There are important cost implications of the CINS/FINS system. Direct services provided for CINS/FINS cases on average cost each year about $1,500 per youth served. A 2001 study by Florida Tax Watch found that if the services provided by the CINS/FINS system through the Florida Network prevent 10 percent of at-risk youths from committing delinquent acts, the State would save over $5 million by preventing delinquency over 6 months, or save $10 million by preventing delinquency over 12 months.

    • References:

    Florida Department of Juvenile Justice. 2006. 2006 Outcome Evaluation Report. http:/www.djj.state.fl.us/Research/index.html.


    ———. 2008. FY 2008 Annual Report. http://www.djj.state.fl.us/AboutDJJ/DJJ-2008-Annual-Report.pdf.


    Florida House of Representatives Committee on Family Law and Children Analysis. 1999. House Bill 709, March 20.


    Florida Network of Youth and Family Services. N.d. http://www.floridanetwork.org/.


    Florida Statutes Annotated 984: West’s F.S.A. 984.04. 1987.


    Florida Tax Watch. 2001. Assessment of Prevention Services of Florida Network of Youth and Family Services.


    Kendall, Jessica R. 2007a. Families in Need of Critical Assistance: Legislation and Policy Abiding Youth Who Engage in Noncriminal Misbehavior. American Bar Association, Center on Children and the Law.


    ———. 2007b. “Juvenile Status Offenders: Treatment and Early Intervention.” Technical Assistance Bulletin No. 29. American Bar Association, Division for Public Education. http://www.abanet.org/publiced/tab29.pdf.


    Mogulescu, Sara, and Caro, Gaspar. 2008. Making Court the Last Resort: A New Focus for Supporting Families in Crisis. Washington, D.C.: Vera Institute of Justice. http://verastage.forumone.com/download?file=1796/status_offender_finalPDF.pdf.

     
    Program Specification:
    Ethnicity:
    American Indian or Alaska Native
    African American
    Asian
    Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
    White
    Other
           
    Gender: Both
    Age:



    Special Populations:
    Non Offender
    Target Settings:
    Rural
    Suburban
    Urban
    Problem Behaviors:
    Status Offenses (non-specific)
    DSO Strategies:
    Legal/Systems Change (Laws, Structured Policies)
           
    Level Of Focus:
    State
           
    Legal Systems Change:
    Law/Ordinance
           
    Law Ordinance Type:
    PINS/CINS/FINS
    All
           
    DSO Intervention Types:
    Residential Care
    Prevention
    Immediate Sanctions
           
    Core Requirements:
    Deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders (DSO)
           
     
     
    Additional Information:
    Additional Best Practice Registries in Which This Program is Listed:

    Status:

    Program is in operation at this time.

    Performance Measures:
    Suggested OJJDP Performance Measures for the Program Types(s):
    Contact Information:
    PROGRAM DEVELOPER CONTACT INFORMATION
    First Name:  Stacy Gromatski
    Organization Name:  Florida Network of Youth and Family Services, Inc.
    Address:  2850 Pablo Avenue
    City, State  Zip:  Tallahassee , FL  32308   
    Phone:  850-922-4324
    Fax:  850-921-4324
    Email:  stacy@floridanetwork.org
    Website:  http://www.floridanetwork.org
    TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROVIDER CONTACT INFORMATION
    First Name: 
    Title: 
    Organization Name: 
    Address: 
    City, State  Zip:    
    Phone: 
    Fax: 
    Email: 
    Website: 
    PROGRAM LOCATIONS
    First Name:  Beth Deck
    Title:  NW Director
    Organization Name:  Lutheran Services Florida/ Northwest
    Address:  4610 W. Fairfield Drive
    City, State  Zip:  Pensacola , FL  32506   
    Phone:  850-453-2772 ext. 13
    Fax:  850-453-2866
    Email:  Bdeck@Isfnet.org
    PROGRAM LOCATIONS
    First Name:  Stacy Gromatski
    Title:  CEO/President
    Organization Name:  Capital City Youth Services
    Address:  2407 Roberts Avenue
    City, State  Zip:  Tallahassee , FL  32310   
    Phone:  850-576-6000 ext. 311
    Fax:  850-576-2580
    Email:  Stacy@ccys.org
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    OJJDP Deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders Best Practices Database
    The OJJDP Deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders Best Practices Database  was created and developed by Development Services Group
    under Cooperative Agreement #2008-JF-FX-0072.