TEEN COURT LIKELY TO CONSOLIDATE CASE MANAGERS ACROSS 3 NORTHWEST FLORIDA COUNTIES
PENSACOLA, Fla. -- Court officials in Northwest Florida say a local diversion program is continuing to offer first-time juvenile offenders an alternative to the traditional justice system — even as it moves to reduce staffing.
Teen Court is a program for juveniles accused of minor offenses, including misdemeanors.
“It’s usually for misdemeanor offenses, possession of a vape pen, fighting, probably petty theft,” said Kasey Watson, trial court administrator.
Instead of going through the standard court process, teens in the program are judged by their peers. Fellow teenagers volunteer to serve as prosecutors, defense attorneys and jurors, and they decide consequences that can include writing an apology letter or completing community service.
Court officials say the Teen Court program -- which serves Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties -- has an 85% success rate. Watson said about 150 kids in Escambia County go through Teen Court each year, along with another 75 in Santa Rosa and Okaloosa.
Now, the program is likely consolidating case managers. The program previously had one case manager per county, but responsibilities will be shared between two people, with one also serving as program director for the three counties.
The Okaloosa position will supervise the Escambia/Santa Rosa position, and will continue to do case management in Okaloosa, so it is not just one case manager and a director. The cost savings will be approximately $42,000 per year.
The agreement must be approved by local county commissioners. Okaloosa and Santa Rosa counties have approved it, and Escambia County commissioners are set to review the item at Thursday night’s commission meeting.
Watson said the change is tied to budget concerns.
“Our funding doesn’t come from general revenue. It comes from a statute," she said. "It comes from ordinances and we try to stay within that budget. This was a way for us to do that and still feel like we will be serving the public just like we were before."
Criminal defense attorney Trey Parnell, who supports the program’s mission, said the staffing change raises concerns about whether Teen Court can maintain the same level of service.
“It’s more for rehabilitation and to try to keep these children from finding their way into the criminal court, where they’re going to be punished more severely,” Parnell said.
Parnell said he worries consolidation could lead to delays or cancellations that reduce the program’s effectiveness.
“I would hate to see part of that consolidation being less use of the program or it’s not as effective because the director can’t get there that day, so it has to be pushed off to the following week, or let’s just cancel it,” he said.
Watson said court officials do not expect the staffing change to affect services and said the program will revisit the decision if results change.
“If we had any suggestion that we were not serving as many kids or serving them as well, we would certainly take a look at this again. But we feel very confident this is going to work and work well,” Watson said.
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