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Record of Proceedings

Circuit 13 Juvenile Justice Advisory Board Meeting - August 21, 2026

Hillsborough County Archive View Page — Friday, August 21, 2026
BodyHillsborough County, Florida
SessionHillsborough County Archive View Page
DateFriday, August 21, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:37:20

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
3:07

Good morning, welcome to the Circuit Thirteen Juvenile Justice Advisory Board Agenda agenda for today is we'll start off with the roll call.

3:16

Thank you.

3:16

Uh, for public record, our Secretary Clara Reynolds has an excuse absence today.

3:21

Uh, beginning with members, Irene Maslanick.

3:25

Here.

3:27

Antina Mobley.

3:34

Beth Passick.

3:38

Major Craig Roberts.

3:40

Present.

3:42

Captain Robin Polk or her new replacement.

3:45

Rose Angela Coplas present.

3:49

Commissioner Donna Cameron Capeta.

3:52

Chrissy Dorian.

3:54

Present.

4:13

Marquesh Thomas.

4:15

Sarah Grimmick.

4:19

Rob Parkinson is here.

4:22

And Kimberly Williams.

5:03

Next item on the agenda is uh adoption of the agenda.

5:06

Do we have an emotion to adopt the agenda?

5:10

Motion to adopt the agenda.

5:12

I'll second.

5:17

Next we have a review and approval of the minutes for February and May.

5:23

Do we need to do Vice Chair?

5:24

Do we need to do those separately for approval?

5:28

I think that would be up for both.

5:29

Okay.

5:30

Can we have a motion for approval of the minutes for February?

5:34

Motion.

5:35

Second.

5:36

So loud.

5:37

Additionally, can we have a motion for the minutes in May?

5:41

Major Roberts have a motion for approval.

5:45

And I'll second.

5:47

Thank you.

5:50

Next is standing business.

5:52

So we have unfinished business with confirmation of Major Craig Roberts as a circuit 13 service excellent award subcommittee chair and appointment.

6:02

Do we have a motion for confirmation of Major Craig Roberts as the chair?

6:06

I'll make that motion.

6:08

I second.

6:12

Been approved.

6:19

All right, so the next item is status of standing subcommittees.

6:24

So we have two subcommittees that are concluding the school achievement and the data-driven subcommittee.

6:32

Data driven subcommittee was chaired by Judy Royston and the student achievement, Chrissy Dorian.

6:38

So we appreciate their good work that they did with the committees.

6:46

I'd just like to point out that uh again, thank uh Director Royston for all of our hard work on her committee, and she's really given us a roadmap of where we need to go to improve our civil citation utilization in the future.

6:59

Thank you.

7:06

All right, so next moving on to member updates, Department of Juvenile Justice in reference to the Hillsborough Detention Center closure.

7:15

The closure is part of a long planned effort to transition to a new juvenile detention center.

7:21

Youth currently served at Hillsborough Detention will be placed at existing detention centers and surrounding counties in the immediate area.

7:27

The Hillsborough County Juvenile Assessment Center will remain open and operational.

7:38

They will continue to receive services including medical, mental health, and education services.

7:45

And youth will still attend their court dates, and a plan for family visitation in Tampa is currently being worked on for DJJ circuit 13 numbers, youth on intake status 363, probation 146, conditional release 32, electronic monitoring 34, supervised release 27, note with supervised release, the reporting center contract ends on September 30th, and effective October 1st.

8:21

All supervised release youth will be supervised by SRT provider Bayes.

8:25

The new continuum results in home detention seven through nine on supervised release, intensive home detention scoring of 1011 on the DRA.

8:37

And then 12 intensive home detention with electronic monitoring.

8:42

And as far as a staff update for circuit 13 probation, Amanda LaPreste has been selected as the next assistant chief probation officer in the circuit.

8:51

She has served with DJ J for 26 years as a juvenile probation officer, senior juvenile probation officer, and a juvenile probation officer supervisor.

9:02

That's all the information I have for Department of Juvenile Justice and detention at this time.

9:10

And there's at this time there's no updates for prevention.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Youth Programs███████████████████████████████████████39%
Public Safety█████████████████17%
Juvenile Justice██████████████14%
Public Comment███████████11%
Procedural███████7%
Workforce Development████4%
Mental Health Awareness███3%
Data Driven Decision Making██2%
Budget Equity Analysis██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Circuit 13 Juvenile Justice Advisory Board Meeting – August 21, 2026

The Circuit 13 Juvenile Justice Advisory Board convened on August 21, 2026, to discuss the closure of the Hillsborough Detention Center, crime statistics, community programs, and public concerns. Key actions included forming an emergency Detention Closure Work Group and receiving updates on workforce development and the Safe Summer Series.

Consent Calendar

  • Agenda adopted by motion.
  • Minutes from February and May 2026 approved.
  • Major Craig Roberts confirmed as chair of the Service Excellence Award Subcommittee.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Reverend Dr. Thurston Smith: Expressed concern over the detention center closure, describing it as "poor policy and very poor planning." Emphasized the need for "warm handoffs" in transitions.
  • Connie Burton: Criticized the lack of transparency and questioned the racial demographics of affected youth. Stressed the need for community resources like bowling alleys and skating rinks.
  • Yvette Lewis (NAACP Hillsborough County): Requested full transparency and written answers regarding the detention closure. Called for NAACP representation on the board.
  • Valerie Bullock (Ponce Leon and College Hill Project): Highlighted the trauma of separation from families and the lack of planning. Emphasized the need for creative solutions and community funding.

Discussion Items

  • Detention Center Closure Update: DJJ representative Ryan reported that the Hillsborough Detention Center is closing as part of a long-planned transition to a new facility. Youth are being moved to existing centers in surrounding counties, including Brevard and Manatee. Three youth have been moved so far. Members expressed concerns about transportation, family visitation, attorney access, mental health impact, and lack of communication. A motion to form an emergency Detention Closure Work Group was made, seconded, and approved. Rob Parkinson volunteered to chair the group.
  • Delinquency Citation Statistics (Judy Royston): For June 2026, 42 total citations (38 community, 4 school); dominant charge was battery DV (12). For July 2026, 34 community, zero school; dominant charges were DV and petty theft (9 each). Gender breakdown: 18 females and 25 males in June; 20 females and 14 males in July.
  • Children's Services Update: Reported July 2026 bed days: 161 SINS (shelter/independent living), 124 DV (domestic violence). Current facility population: 1 truancy, 4 SINS, 1 DV, 1 DCF.
  • Innovation Zone Subcommittee (Conchita Jones): Presented the "Future Forward Pathways to Employment" pilot program targeting 25 youth ages 16–18 on probation. Focus on workforce readiness, credentials, and job placement. Subcommittee to continue exploring partners and funding.
  • Safe Summer Series (Freddie Barton): Reported over 800 youth participated in four positive takeover events with zero arrests. Nine youth completed the Responsibility Matters restorative justice program, resulting in no-file status for charges related to a street takeover. The Evening Reporting Center will continue beyond September 30 despite loss of state funding, sustained by Hillsborough County funds ($300,000 for ERC and gun violence initiative). Mentioned community violence prevention mini-grants of up to $2,500 each.

Key Outcomes

  • Motion for an emergency Detention Closure Work Group passed unanimously. The work group will meet weekly (possibly via Teams) to identify problems, propose stopgap solutions (e.g., using other county facilities), and issue recommendations to DJJ.
  • Reduction in detention bed days: From 20,789 in state fiscal year 2024-25 to 19,472 in 2025-26, a reduction of 1,317 bed days, attributed to collaborative work despite legislation holding youth longer.
  • The board committed to seeking community input and continuing collaboration with DJJ and local stakeholders.

Meeting Transcript

Good morning, welcome to the Circuit Thirteen Juvenile Justice Advisory Board Agenda agenda for today is we'll start off with the roll call. Thank you. Uh, for public record, our Secretary Clara Reynolds has an excuse absence today. Uh, beginning with members, Irene Maslanick. Here. Antina Mobley. Beth Passick. Major Craig Roberts. Present. Captain Robin Polk or her new replacement. Rose Angela Coplas present. Commissioner Donna Cameron Capeta. Chrissy Dorian. Present. Marquesh Thomas. Sarah Grimmick. Rob Parkinson is here. And Kimberly Williams. Next item on the agenda is uh adoption of the agenda. Do we have an emotion to adopt the agenda? Motion to adopt the agenda. I'll second. Next we have a review and approval of the minutes for February and May. Do we need to do Vice Chair? Do we need to do those separately for approval? I think that would be up for both. Okay. Can we have a motion for approval of the minutes for February? Motion. Second. So loud. Additionally, can we have a motion for the minutes in May? Major Roberts have a motion for approval. And I'll second. Thank you. Next is standing business. So we have unfinished business with confirmation of Major Craig Roberts as a circuit 13 service excellent award subcommittee chair and appointment. Do we have a motion for confirmation of Major Craig Roberts as the chair? I'll make that motion. I second. Been approved. All right, so the next item is status of standing subcommittees. So we have two subcommittees that are concluding the school achievement and the data-driven subcommittee. Data driven subcommittee was chaired by Judy Royston and the student achievement, Chrissy Dorian. So we appreciate their good work that they did with the committees. I'd just like to point out that uh again, thank uh Director Royston for all of our hard work on her committee, and she's really given us a roadmap of where we need to go to improve our civil citation utilization in the future. Thank you. All right, so next moving on to member updates, Department of Juvenile Justice in reference to the Hillsborough Detention Center closure. The closure is part of a long planned effort to transition to a new juvenile detention center. Youth currently served at Hillsborough Detention will be placed at existing detention centers and surrounding counties in the immediate area.

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