Fla. Stat. § 985.435 — Florida Code / Title XLVII / Chapter 985 / Part VII / Section 985.435
985.435 Probation; community service.
Status: in_force

(1) The court that has jurisdiction over an adjudicated delinquent child may, by an order stating the facts upon which a determination of a sanction and rehabilitative program was made at the disposition hearing, place the child in a probation program. Such placement must be under the supervision of an authorized agent of the department or of any other person or agency specifically authorized and appointed by the court, whether in the child’s own home, in the home of a relative of the child, or in some other suitable place under such reasonable conditions as the court may direct.

(2) A probation program for an adjudicated delinquent child must include a penalty component such as: (a) Restitution in money or in kind; (b) Community service; (c) A curfew; (d) Revocation or suspension of the driver license of the child; or (e) Other nonresidential punishment appropriate to the offense.

(3) A probation program must also include a rehabilitative program component such as a requirement of participation in substance abuse treatment or in a school or career and technical education program. The nonconsent of the child to treatment in a substance abuse treatment program in no way precludes the court from ordering such treatment. Upon the recommendation of the department at the time of disposition, or subsequent to disposition pursuant to the filing of a petition alleging a violation of the child’s conditions of probation, the court may order the child to submit to random testing for the purpose of detecting and monitoring the use of alcohol or controlled substances.

(4) A probation program must include an alternative consequence component to address instances in which a child is noncompliant with technical conditions of his or her probation but has not committed any new violations of law. The alternative consequence component must be aligned with the department’s graduated response matrix as described in s. 985.438.

(5) An identification of the child’s risk of reoffending shall be provided by the department, taking into account the child’s needs and risks relative to probation supervision requirements to reasonably ensure the public safety. Probation programs for children shall be supervised by the department or by any other person or agency specifically authorized by the court. These programs must include, but are not limited to, structured or restricted activities as described in this section and s. 985.439, and shall be designed to encourage the child toward acceptable and functional social behavior.

(6) If supervision or a program of community service is ordered by the court, the duration of such supervision or program must be consistent with any treatment and rehabilitation needs identified for the child and may not exceed the term for which sentence could be imposed if the child were committed for the offense, except that the duration of such supervision or program for an offense that is a misdemeanor of the second degree, or is equivalent to a misdemeanor of the second degree, may be for a period not to exceed 6 months.

(7) The court may conduct judicial review hearings for a child placed on probation for the purpose of fostering accountability to the judge and compliance with other requirements, such as restitution and community service. The court may allow early termination of probation for a child who has substantially complied with the terms and conditions of probation.

History: s. 39, ch. 97-238; s. 1, ch. 98-55; s. 14, ch. 98-207; s. 82, ch. 98-280; s. 132, ch. 99-3; s. 15, ch. 99-284; s. 31, ch. 2000-135; s. 24, ch. 2001-125; s. 6, ch. 2005-263; s. 46, ch. 2006-120; s. 23, ch. 2014-162; s. 3, ch. 2021-219; s. 13, ch. 2024-130.