Cristian Fernandez: 12 year old Cristian Fernandez of Jacksonville, Florida, may soon be tried as an ADULT in the death of his younger brother. If you believe that it is wrong to try this child in adult court―where the penalty could be life in prison without parole―then please sign the petition "Reverse decision to try 12 y/o Cristian Fernandez as an adult." 
To learn more about Cristian Fernandez, click here.

Leo Boatman: Product of the system or natural-born killer?

09/12/10 Leo Boatman had 'uniquely awful' path to murder" ― If you believe the killer, when he raised his rifle that day, he was aiming at all of us." [continued]

!!PEN PAL WANTED!! Leo Boatman is now 24 and would appreciate pen pals. Pen pals will give him something to do, things to think about...and a link to the 'real' world. He is interested in exchanging ideas about travel, history and life. He can receive letters and no more than 10 sheets of blank lined paper, 10 blank envelopes & 20 stamps, per mailing.
Use this mailing address:

Leo Boatman 129327
Florida State Prison
7819 NW 228th St.
Raiford, FL 32026

For more information contact Steve@justice4kids.org.

 

Blade Reed

Kids in custody in the US are too often treated worse than animals. Click here to read about Blade Reed in Indiana. Then, sign the petition Humane treatment for Blade Reed.

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, Florida Public Defender, 6th Circuit, click here.

Pinellas County Juvenile Justice Council - Public Meeting Schedule

DJJ bad apple  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

Date	ID #	Name	Facility
01/05/11 11/10/10 11/03/10	CCC# 201100041 IG 10-0078 - Employee abuse CCC# 201003284	Gargett, Frank	Manatee JDC
09/10/10	Arrested for lewd and lascivious behavior	Crotzer, Alan	DJJ HQ
08/23/10	HCSO Booking #10041470 - DUI	Uliasz, James Joseph Superintendent	Pinellas JDC
02/18/10	CCC 2010-00636 -Abuse of Youth and Staff Violations	Roberts, Major Chesser, Officer	Pasco JDC
02/16/10	CCC 2009-05970 - Abuse of 16 year-old boy	Pejot, J.	Pinellas JDC
02/15/10	CCC 2010-00604 - Staff violations	Gargett, Major Kelly, Capt. Searls, Capt.	Manatee JDC
01/26/10	CIG 2010-9 - Review of the Travel of Secretary Frank Peterman, Jr.	Peterman, Frank	DJJ HQ
01/11/10	COE 09-153 - Florida Commission on Ethics Complaint #09-153	Peterman, Frank	DJJ HQ
12/04/09	Detention guard charged with cocaine trafficking to be fired	Jackson, Reginald	Okaloosa JDC
02/11/09	IG 09-0005/CCC N/A - Improper conduct/computer misuse	Barreiro, Gus	DJJ HQ
10/08/08	CCC 200806181 - Drug violations	Volusia JDC	Volusia JDC
12/09/09 09/24/08	Guilty; 8 yrs in prison PCSO 1322871	Woods, Parris	Pinellas JDC
08/22/08	DJJ IG # 2008-05253 - staff members (including the program director) are having sexual relations with the juveniles at The Pines		Stewart Marchman The Pines
08/08/08 9/15/08 9/15/08	OIG 08-154 - pornography viewing on state computers by St. Johns Regional Juvenile Detention Center staff Probe into officer firings done St. Augustine Record The way DJJ has destroyed some of the 15 at SJRDC e-mail to St. Augustine Record	Allen, D. Charlton, D. Demarco, C. Evans, D. Fox, C. Hontz III, H. McCoy, J. Montoya, R. Philmore, D. Quinn, M. Thomas, T. Vertule, M.	St. Johns JDC
06/30/08	CCC 2008-01488 - principal to escape	Larry, Dyshawn	Manatee Adolescent Treatment Center
06/26/08	CCC 2008-01870 - failure to perform 10-minute room checks on a youth in isolation SUBSTANTIATED CASE CLOSED	Lopez, A. Mitchell, M. Roman. A.	Osceola JDC
06/12/08	CCC 2008-03583 - punching juvenile at Manatee juvenile facility	Damour, Wanick	Manattee JDC
05/21/08	CCC 2007-04544 - failure to perform 10-minute room checks; false documentation	Roland, J. Russ, M. Woods, C.	DOVE Academy
05/15/08	CCC 2008-03012  CCC 2008-03013 failure to perform 10-minute room checks on a youth in isolation	McCausland, Shadrick (CCSO) Marino, Meghan (DJJ)	Collier County JAC
05/12/08	W35136 - Employed while on felony probation for carrying a concealed fire arm NOT INVESTIGATED BY IG: "Carrying a Concealed Weapon-Firearm is not a disqualifying offense... This matter does not need to be investigated..."	Jackson, Anthony	Palm Beach Juvenile Correctional Facility
04/29/08	Pinellas JDC - felony possession of crack cocaine	Galto, Dominic	Pinellas JDC
03/11/08	08002634CF10A - DUI, reckless driving, speeding, and fleeing the scene of an accident	Evans, Duane	Thompson Academy YSI
06/20/07	DJJ IG 07-308 - improper restraint and unnecessary force SUBSTANTIATED	Williams, Christopher	Manatee Adolescent Training Services
02/05/07	072506 - DUI	Uliasz, J.	Pinellas JDC

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.

My rights	Bob Dillinger Public Defender 6th Circuit
	Honorable Behavior

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

11/10/04 From our servant government
"We discourage public comment."
~Marquita McGuire, DJJ

Watchdog of Florida's
Department of Juvenile Justice
This site was updated 04/15/2012

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.

 

Committed to protecting your rights, because they are my rights too!
	Donald A. Harrison Attorney at Law Criminal Defense Pinellas/Pasco/Hillsborough Counties PO Box 189 Riverview, FL 33568-0189 1.813.935.9040 DonaldAHarrison@yahoo.com

Justice4Kids Adopt a Park

January 10, 2009

Report of the Blueprint Commission

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

Join the discussion at Yahoo Discussion Group AbuseInFloridaDJJ.

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

 

Government run amok!
Greg Pound outside the Pinellas County Criminal Justice Center August 31, 2010	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. "Florida monitors zoos and animal shelters with greater scrutiny and professionalism than DJJ monitors the contracted providers that reap profits from troubled kids and families. It's all about politics and money." ~Anonymous, 11/22/06

02/04/12 The state Commission on Ethics...ordered a $5,000 fine and public censure and reprimand for Frank Peterman for travel abuses when he was Florida's secretary of juvenile justice under former Gov. Charlie Crist. [complete article]

12/28/11 State officials fire 6 West Palm juvenile detention workers in connection with teen's July death [The firings] of a supervisor and five other employees at a West Palm Beach juvenile detention center where a teenager died in July, bringing the total fired after the death of Eric Perez to nine. [complete article]

12/23/11 Fed probe validates Dozier abuse claims
The Infamous Dozier School for Boys...is now closed. But, before it shut down, state investigators said they found no basis for the rumors of child abuse... Three years after that probe, the U.S. Justice Department found something different. The feds say there definitely was abuse at Dozier... [complete article]

07/21/11 In teen’s death, lack of money is no excuse for lack of caring The only accurate diagnosis may have come from [Justice4Kids Cathy] Corry. “The staff didn’t care.” She was referring to the Eric Perez death, but the tragic underpinnings of both cases [Omar Paisley 2003] seem sadly interchangeable. [complete text]

12/02/11 US Department of Justice Investigative Findings on the Dozier School for Boys

01/29/10 Florida Department of Law Enforcement Abuse Investigation of Dozier School for Boys

The Boys of the Dark is the true story of men forever haunted by the torture they endured as kids at the hands of their jailers in the infamous Florida School for Boys. This is "a story of betrayal and redemption in the deep south" written by Robin Gaby Fisher with Michael O'McCarthy and Robert W. Straley.

Fisher is a Pulitzer Prize winner and the New York Times best selling author of After the Fire. O'McCarthy and Straley are survivors who founded The White House Boys Survivor's Organization.

To read stories about the "white house boys" as they emerged in the St. Petersburg Times and other newspapers, click here. For more information, visit The White House Boys Survivor's Organization at whitehouseboys.com. Or, contact Robert Straley at 727.447.4441 or by email at rwstraley@earthlink.net or rstraley@gmail.com.

Also, contact Gus Barreiro at 786.586.3193. Barreiro, as a Florida State Representative, led his committee to force the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice to confront its failure to provide "... services that strengthen families and turn around the lives of troubled youth." Barreiro later worked in the Department where he successfully fought to bring the story of the White House Boys and conditions at the Florida School For Boys to the nation's attention. He did it because he knew it must be done. He also knew it would cost him his job.

To buy the book or read an excerpt from The Boys of the Dark on Amazon.com, click here.

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

Here are some 2008, 2009 and 2010 cases under Peterman's regime... For more, click Child Abuse.

Date	ID#	Name
02/18/10	2010-00636	Pasco JDC
02/16/10	2009-05970	Pinellas JDC
11/10/09	2009-05855	St Johns YSI Facilities
10/28/09	2009-05579	Eckerd Youth Challenge Program
12/18/08	2008-07593	Brevard JDC
12/12/08	2008-07504	Hastings Youth Academy
12/07/08	2008-07422	Miami JDC
11/17/08	2008-07064	Hastings Youth Academy
11/12/08	2008-06946	Dozier & JJOCC
11/2008	2008-07079	Tallahassee JDC
11/2008	2008-07062	Tallahassee JDC
10/2008	2008-06963	Tallahassee JDC
10/2008	2008-06672	Tallahassee JDC
08/22/08	2008-05253	The Pines
07/22/08	2008-04507	DeSota
07/08/08	2008-04150	Dozier
07/03/08	2008-03998	Collier Academy
07/02/08	2008-03930	Pasco JDC
06/21/08	2008-03860	Graceville
06/19/08	2008-03803	Okaloosa Youth Academy
05/23/08	2008-03167	Dade
05/15/08	2008-02972	Dozier
05/13/08	2008-02930	Pasco JDC
05/13/08	2008-02913	Graceville
04/25/08	2008-02542	DeSota Dual Diagnosed
04/23/08	2008-02484	Hastings
04/21/08	2008-02452	Dozier
03/26/08	2008-01870	Oceola JDC [SUBSTANTIATED]
03/10/08	2008-01488	Manatee MAT Center
05/27/08	2007-06705	Collier Academy
05/19/08	CAP 5 & 6	Hastings

DJJ concerns? Abuse or neglect of youth?   Contact: Wansley Walters - cell 850-210-3815, Secretary.DJJ@djj.state.fl.us

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

JUSTICE 4 JUSTIN

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

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.

If you are not outraged you are not paying attention!