Senate Bill 918 (2026) — Juvenile justice
SB 918
Florida Bills
Florida Senate - 2026 SB 918 By Senator Bracy Davis 15-00946-26 2026918__ Page 1 of 7 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to juvenile justice; amending s. 2 985.455, F.S.; requiring a court to determine, for any 3 delinquent child committed to the Department of 4 Juvenile Justice, the minimum period of time rather 5 than an indeterminate period of time for the child to 6 remain in a commitment program; requiring that the 7 delinquent child remain in the commitment program 8 until he or she has completed it; revising provisions 9 relating to an objective performance-based treatment 10 plan; deleting a prohibition on extending a child’s 11 length of stay in the program for purposes of sanction 12 or punishment; amending s. 985.465, F.S.; revising the 13 age at which children who have been adjudicated on 14 specified offenses may be committed to maximum-risk 15 residential facilities to include children who are at 16 least 10 years of age; conforming provisions to 17 changes made by the act; reenacting ss. 985.35(4)(b) 18 and 985.565(4)(b), F.S., relating to adjudicatory 19 hearings for children and sentencing alternatives for 20 juveniles prosecuted as adults, respectively, to 21 incorporate the amendment made to s. 985.455, F.S., in 22 references thereto; providing an effective date. 23 24 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 25 26
Section 1. Subsection (3) of
section 985.455, Florida 27 Statutes, is amended to read: 28 985.455 Other dispositional issues.— 29
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(3) For any commitment of a delinquent child to the 30 department, a court shall determine the minimum period of time 31 for the delinquent child to remain in a commitment program. A 32 delinquent child committed to the department must remain in the 33 commitment program until he or she has completed it. must be for 34 an indeterminate period of time, which may include periods of 35 temporary release; However, the period of time may not exceed 36 the maximum term of imprisonment that an adult may serve for the 37 same offense.
The child must have an duration of the child’s 38 placement in a commitment program of any restrictiveness level 39 shall be based on objective performance-based treatment plan 40 while in the commitment of the program planning. The child’s 41 treatment plan progress and adjustment-related issues shall be 42 reported to the court quarterly, unless the court requests 43 monthly reports. If the child is under the jurisdiction of a 44 dependency court, the court may receive and consider any 45 information provided by the Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office 46 or the child’s attorney ad litem, if one is appointed.
The 47 child’s length of stay in a commitment program may be extended 48 if the child fails to comply with or participate in treatment 49 activities. The child’s length of stay in the program shall not 50 be extended for purposes of sanction or punishment. Any 51 temporary release from such program must be approved by the 52 court. Any child so committed may be discharged from 53 institutional confinement or a program upon the direction of the 54 department with the concurrence of the court.
The child’s 55 treatment plan progress and adjustment-related issues must be 56 communicated to the court at the time the department requests 57 the court to consider releasing the child from the commitment 58
Florida Senate - 2026 SB 918 15-00946-26 2026918__ Page 3 of 7 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. program. The department shall give the court that committed the 59 child to the department reasonable notice, in writing, of its 60 desire to discharge the child from a commitment facility. The 61 court that committed the child may thereafter accept or reject 62 the request. If the court does not respond within 10 days after 63 receipt of the notice, the request of the department shall be 64 deemed granted. This
section does not limit the department’s 65 authority to revoke a child’s temporary release status and 66 return the child to a commitment facility for any violation of 67 the terms and conditions of the temporary release. 68
Section
Section 985.465, Florida Statutes, is amended to 69 read: 70 985.465 Maximum-risk residential facilities.—A maximum-risk 71 residential facility is a physically secure residential 72 commitment program with a designated length of stay from 18 73 months to 36 months, primarily serving children 10 13 years of 74 age to 19 years of age or until the jurisdiction of the court 75 expires. Each child committed to this level must meet one of the 76 following criteria: 77
(1) The child is at least 10 years of age at the time of 78 the disposition for the current offense and has been adjudicated 79 on the current offense for murder or manslaughter. 80
(2) The child is at least 13 years of age at the time of 81 the disposition for the current offense and has been adjudicated 82 on the current offense for: 83 (
a) Arson; 84 (
b) Sexual battery; 85 (
c) Robbery; 86 (
d) Kidnapping; 87
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e) Aggravated child abuse; 88 (
f) Aggravated assault; 89 (
g) Aggravated stalking; 90 (
h) Murder; 91 (
i) Manslaughter; 92 (
j) Unlawful throwing, placing, or discharging of a 93 destructive device or bomb; 94 (i)(
k) Armed burglary; 95 (j)(
l) Aggravated battery; 96 (k)(
m) Carjacking; 97 (l)(
n) Home-invasion robbery; 98 (m)(
o) Burglary with an assault or battery; 99 (n)(
p) Any lewd or lascivious offense committed upon or in 100 the presence of a person less than 16 years of age; or 101 (o)(
q) Carrying, displaying, using, threatening to use, or 102 attempting to use a weapon or firearm during the commission of a 103 felony. 104 (3)
(2) The child is at least 13 years of age at the time of 105 the disposition, the current offense is a felony, and the child 106 has previously been committed three or more times to a 107 delinquency commitment program. 108 (4)
(3) The child is at least 13 years of age and is 109 currently committed for a felony offense and transferred from a 110 moderate-risk or high-risk residential commitment placement. 111 (5)
(4) The child is at least 13 years of age at the time of 112 the disposition for the current offense, the child is eligible 113 for prosecution as an adult for the current offense, and the 114 current offense is ranked at level 7 or higher on the Criminal 115 Punishment Code offense severity ranking chart pursuant to s. 116
Florida Senate - 2026 SB 918 15-00946-26 2026918__ Page 5 of 7 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. 921.0022. 117
Section 3. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment 118 made by this act to
section 985.455, Florida Statutes, in a 119 reference thereto, paragraph (
b) of subsection (4) of
section 120 985.35, Florida Statutes, is reenacted to read: 121 985.35 Adjudicatory hearings; withheld adjudications; 122 orders of adjudication.— 123
(4) If the court finds that the child named in the petition 124 has committed a delinquent act or violation of law, it may, in 125 its discretion, enter an order stating the facts upon which its 126 finding is based but withholding adjudication of delinquency. 127 (
b) If the child is attending public school and the court 128 finds that the victim or a sibling of the victim in the case was 129 assigned to attend or is eligible to attend the same school as 130 the child, the court order shall include a finding pursuant to 131 the proceedings described in s. 985.455, regardless of whether 132 adjudication is withheld. 133
Section 4. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment 134 made by this act to
section 985.455, Florida Statutes, in a 135 reference thereto, paragraph (
b) of subsection (4) of
section 136 985.565, Florida Statutes, is reenacted to read: 137 985.565 Sentencing powers; procedures; alternatives for 138 juveniles prosecuted as adults.— 139
(4) SENTENCING ALTERNATIVES.— 140 (
b) Juvenile sanctions.—For juveniles transferred to adult 141 court but who do not qualify for such transfer under s. 142 985.556(3), the court may impose juvenile sanctions under this 143 paragraph. If juvenile sentences are imposed, the court shall, 144 under this paragraph, adjudge the child to have committed a 145
Florida Senate - 2026 SB 918 15-00946-26 2026918__ Page 6 of 7 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. delinquent act. Adjudication of delinquency may not be deemed a 146 conviction, nor shall it operate to impose any of the civil 147 disabilities ordinarily resulting from a conviction. The court 148 shall impose an adult sanction or a juvenile sanction and may 149 not sentence the child to a combination of adult and juvenile 150 punishments.
An adult sanction or a juvenile sanction may 151 include enforcement of an order of restitution or probation 152 previously ordered in any juvenile proceeding. However, if the 153 court imposes a juvenile sanction and the department determines 154 that the sanction is unsuitable for the child, the department 155 shall return custody of the child to the sentencing court for 156 further proceedings, including the imposition of adult 157 sanctions. Upon adjudicating a child delinquent under subsection 158 (1), the court may: 159 1.
Place the child in a probation program under the 160 supervision of the department for an indeterminate period of 161 time until the child reaches the age of 19 years or sooner if 162 discharged by order of the court. 163 2. Commit the child to the department for treatment in an 164 appropriate program for children for an indeterminate period of 165 time until the child is 21 or sooner if discharged by the 166 department. The department shall notify the court of its intent 167 to discharge no later than 14 days before discharge.
Failure of 168 the court to timely respond to the department’s notice shall be 169 considered approval for discharge. 170 3. Order disposition under ss. 985.435, 985.437, 985.439, 171 985.441, 985.45, and 985.455 as an alternative to youthful 172 offender or adult sentencing if the court determines not to 173 impose youthful offender or adult sanctions. 174
Florida Senate - 2026 SB 918 15-00946-26 2026918__ Page 7 of 7 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. 175 It is the intent of the Legislature that the criteria and 176 guidelines in this subsection are mandatory and that a 177 determination of disposition under this subsection is subject to 178 the right of the child to appellate review under s. 985.534. 179