Getting a Child Home
When a child is arrested in Florida, the first and most urgent question is whether they will be sent home or held in secure detention while the case proceeds. After an arrest, a child is usually taken to a Juvenile Assessment Center, where a risk-assessment instrument scores the case and helps determine the recommended level of detention. A child who is held must be brought before a judge within twenty-four hours for a detention hearing, and that hearing is the first real chance for a lawyer to argue for release. Whether a child spends the case at home or in a detention center often turns on what happens in those first hours.
The Risk-Assessment Instrument
The detention decision in Florida runs largely through a scoring tool, the detention risk-assessment instrument, which assigns points based on the charge, any prior record, and other factors, then recommends release, home detention, or secure detention. The score is not the last word. The instrument is frequently mis-scored because the juvenile probation officer lacks complete or accurate information, and a corrected score can move a child from secure detention to release. Reviewing how the instrument was scored, and pushing for a rescore where it is wrong, is often the difference at the detention hearing.
| Level | What it means |
|---|---|
| Release | The child goes home to a parent or guardian while the case proceeds |
| Home detention | The child stays home under supervision and conditions, such as curfew and school |
| Secure detention | The child is held in a detention facility, used for the most serious or high-scoring cases |
The Limits on Holding a Child
Florida law sets real limits on detaining a child. Detention is governed by the criteria in section 985.255, and secure detention is meant to be the exception, not the default, with home and nonsecure alternatives preferred even when a child scores for secure placement. Secure detention pending an adjudicatory hearing is generally limited to twenty-one days, a deadline that can be used to press the case forward. A judge who wants to depart from the risk-assessment recommendation toward more secure detention has to follow specific statutory requirements, and holding the court to those rules protects the child.
Why the Hearing Matters So Much
Secure detention is not a rehabilitative program; it is confinement, and it carries real risk of harm to a child, along with the disruption of being pulled out of home and school. Having a lawyer at the detention hearing who can present the family’s circumstances, challenge the risk score, and offer a workable home-detention plan can be the difference between a child waiting out the case at home and a child sitting in a facility. If release is denied, the decision can be revisited, and a lawyer can return to court to seek release as circumstances change.
How I Approach Detention
I move immediately on detention, because the early hours are decisive. That means getting to the detention hearing prepared to challenge the risk-assessment score, to present the parents and a concrete plan for supervision at home, and to hold the court to the statutory limits on secure detention. Getting a child home is not only humane; it also puts the family in a far stronger position to fight the case.
Related: Juvenile defense overview, How juvenile court works, Diversion and keeping it off the record, and Sentencing and dispositions.
I began my career as an Assistant Public Defender in Florida’s Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, in Tampa, where delinquency cases are heard, and I am one of six ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientists in the state. A juvenile case is about a child’s future, not just the charge. Learn more about my background.
Common Questions
What happens after a child is arrested in Florida?
The child is usually taken to a Juvenile Assessment Center, where staff gather information and a risk-assessment instrument scores the case. For many misdemeanors and lesser felonies, the child may be released to a parent with a notice to appear. If the child is held, they must be brought before a judge within twenty-four hours for a detention hearing.
What is the juvenile detention risk-assessment instrument?
It is a scoring tool that assigns points based on the charge, prior record, and other factors, and recommends release, home detention, or secure detention. The score is not final. These instruments are frequently mis-scored when the probation officer lacks complete information, and a corrected score can move a child from secure detention to release, which is why reviewing the scoring is so important at the detention hearing.
How long can a child be held in secure detention?
Detention is governed by the criteria in section 985.255, and secure detention pending an adjudicatory hearing is generally limited to twenty-one days. Secure detention is meant to be the exception, with home and nonsecure alternatives preferred even when a child scores for secure placement, and a judge who departs toward more secure detention must follow specific statutory requirements.
Can a lawyer get my child released at the detention hearing?
Often, yes. A lawyer at the detention hearing can challenge the risk-assessment score, present the family's circumstances and a concrete home-supervision plan, and hold the court to the statutory limits on secure detention. Even if release is denied at first, the decision can be revisited as circumstances change.
What is the difference between secure detention and home detention?
Secure detention means the child is held in a detention facility, used for the most serious or highest-scoring cases. Home detention allows the child to stay home under supervision and conditions such as curfew and school attendance. Release sends the child home to a parent without those custodial conditions. The goal at the hearing is the least restrictive option that the law allows.
This page is general information about Florida law, not legal advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Juvenile procedures and consequences vary with the charge, the child’s age and history, and the circuit, so confirm how the current law applies with counsel. Every case is different, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
