Terms Used In Florida Statutes > Chapter 870

• Adjudicatory hearing: means a hearing for the court to determine whether or not the facts support the allegations stated in the petition, as is provided for under…. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• Adult: means any natural person other than a child. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• assessment: means the gathering of information for the evaluation of a juvenile offender's or a child's physical, psychological, educational, career and technical education, and social condition and family environment as they relate to the child's need for rehabilitative and treatment services, including substance abuse treatment services, mental health services, developmental services, literacy services, medical services, family services, and other specialized services, as appropriate. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• Circuit: means any of the 20 judicial circuits as set forth in…. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• Conditional release: means the care, treatment, help, supervision, and provision of transition-to-adulthood services provided to a juvenile released from a residential commitment program which is intended to promote rehabilitation and prevent recidivism. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• Court: means the circuit court assigned to exercise jurisdiction under this chapter, unless otherwise expressly stated. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• delinquent act: means a violation of any law of this state, the United States, or any other state which is a misdemeanor or a felony or a violation of a county or municipal ordinance which would be punishable by incarceration if the violation were committed by an adult. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• Department: means the Department of Juvenile Justice. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• Detention center or facility: means a facility used pending court adjudication or disposition or execution of court order for the temporary care of a child alleged or found to have committed a violation of law. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• Disposition hearing: means a hearing in which the court determines the most appropriate dispositional services in the least restrictive available setting provided for under part VII, in delinquency cases. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• Family: means a collective of persons, consisting of a child and a parent, guardian, adult custodian, or adult relative, in which:
  (a) The persons reside in the same house or living unit; or
  (b) The parent, guardian, adult custodian, or adult relative has a legal responsibility by blood, marriage, or court order to support or care for the child. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• Intake: means the initial acceptance and screening by the department or juvenile assessment center personnel of a complaint or a law enforcement report or probable cause affidavit of delinquency to determine the recommendation to be taken in the best interests of the child, the family, and the community. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• Judge: means the circuit judge exercising jurisdiction pursuant to this chapter. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• Licensed child-caring agency: means a person, society, association, or agency licensed by the Department of Children and Families to care for, receive, and board children. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• minor: includes any person who has not attained the age of 18 years. See Florida Statutes 88.6011
• Parent: means a woman who gives birth to a child and a man whose consent to the adoption of the child would be required under…. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• person: includes individuals, children, firms, associations, joint adventures, partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries, corporations, and all other groups or combinations. See Florida Statutes 88.6011
• Probation: means the legal status of probation created by law and court order in cases involving a child who has been found to have committed a delinquent act. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• Relative: means a grandparent, great-grandparent, sibling, first cousin, aunt, uncle, great-aunt, great-uncle, niece, or nephew, whether related by the whole or half blood, by affinity, or by adoption. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• Restrictiveness level: means the level of programming and security provided by programs that service the supervision, custody, care, and treatment needs of committed children. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• Shelter: means a place for the temporary care of a child who is alleged to be or who has been found to be delinquent. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• Substance abuse: means using, without medical reason, any psychoactive or mood-altering drug, including alcohol, in such a manner as to induce impairment resulting in dysfunctional social behavior. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• Taken into custody: means the status of a child immediately when temporary physical control over the child is attained by a person authorized by law, pending the child's release, detention, placement, or other disposition as authorized by law. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• Temporary release: means the terms and conditions under which a child is temporarily released from a residential commitment facility or allowed home visits. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• Transition-to-adulthood services: means services that are provided for youth in the custody of the department or under the supervision of the department and that have the objective of instilling the knowledge, skills, and aptitudes essential to a socially integrated, self-supporting adult life. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• writing: includes handwriting, printing, typewriting, and all other methods and means of forming letters and characters upon paper, stone, wood, or other materials. See Florida Statutes 88.6011
• youth: means any person under the age of 18 or any person who is alleged to have committed a violation of law occurring prior to the time that person reached the age of 18 years. See Florida Statutes 985.03