In an effort to increase our ability to respond to such requests in a timely and comprehensive manner, the Agency has chosen to coordinate all Public Records and Confidential Youth Records Requests made to the Agency through its Public Records Unit within the Office of General Counsel.

All records, except those regarding juveniles, in the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice or its agents, employees, or contractors are public records, unless otherwise exempt, pursuant to Chapter 119, Florida Statutes.

Public Records Procedure

You can make a public records request by contacting this office by phone, fax, email, or regular mail. Please make sure your contact information is on the request so that we can contact you should we have any questions. You are not required to provide your name when making public records requests. Public records requests can be anonymous. When a public records or confidential youth records request is made, please include as much information as possible relating to your request so that we can respond promptly and accurately.

For confidential youth records, you must provide a notarized release for records (below), a court order, or Subpoena. Regarding the release form, if the youth is a minor, 17 years of age or younger, the legal guardian must complete the form. If the youth is 18 years of age or older, the youth must complete the form.

• Records Release Form

SUBMIT REQUESTS TO:
Email: PublicRecordsReq@djj.state.fl.us
Fax: (850) 921-4159
Phone: (850) 717-2597
Mail: Department of Juvenile Justice, Public Records Request, 2737 Centerview Drive, Suite 3200 Tallahassee, Florida 32399

General Information Regarding Charges

When documents can be sent by email, the Agency will do so in the interest of efficiency and to minimize costs. In these cases, the Agency will only charge a service charge for extensive time. However, when a large volume of documents is requested and must therefore be placed on a CD or DVD, the costs of those materials will be recovered.

If the record is in electronic form, then the Agency will copy the record onto CD or DVD, as needed. The Agency will charge for the actual costs of the disk, not for the time to copy the documents onto the media.

Material Costs

• One-sided copy: $ 0.15 per page of not more than 8 1/2  x 14 inches
• Double-sided copy: $ 0.20 per page of not more than 8 1/2 x 14 inches
• All other copies: Actual cost of duplication (materials and supplies, not labor)
• CD-ROM: $ .85 each
• DVD: $1.15 each
• Packaging and shipping charges: Vary based on size of package

Special Service Charge:

• A special service charge will be imposed if the nature or volume of public or youth records requested requires extensive use of information technology resources and/or extensive clerical or supervisory assistance by agency personnel.
• A special service charge will be warranted if the nature or volume of the public or youth records requested to be inspected or copied requires more than thirty minutes of agency resources. Once thirty minutes of agency resources have been expended on a request, the charge will apply only to any time expended in addition to the first thirty minutes. In other words, there will not be a special service charge for the first thirty minutes of the time regardless of how it takes to fulfill the request.
• Clerical or supervisory assistance includes searching for and/or locating the requested records, reviewing records for legally exempt or confidential information, deletion of such exempt or confidential information, and preparing, copying, and re-filing of the requested records.
• If multiple agency divisions are involved, the special charge will be based on the aggregate amount of time expended by all personnel and information technology resources, if applicable.
• The rate charged for clerical supervisory assistance will be based on the lowest paid full-time personnel in the Agency capable of processing the public or youth records request (based on salary and benefits). In those cases where legal review is necessary, the charge will be based on the lowest attorney rate (salary and benefits) in the Office of General Counsel.
• The special service charge is in addition to any charges for the actual cost of duplication.

Collecting Recovered Costs:

• Payment for costs assessed will be collected before documents are copied, reviewed, redacted, or otherwise processed for release if their production meets the threshold for extensive time or material costs.
• If the actual costs incurred are less than such payment as estimated, the overpayment will be refunded to the requestor. The requestor will be required to remit additional monies upon release of the documents to pay for any costs in excess of the estimate.
• In the event the requestor fails to remit additional monies to cover costs in excess of the deposit, the requested public records will not be released.

Reducing Costs and Limiting Charges:

• Labor costs can be reduced significantly if requests included keywords instead of open-ended terms such as "all documents or emails." Similarly, narrowing a request to certain individuals or divisions can greatly reduce the use of extensive labor.
• Many easily accessible records are available online for no charge. The Agency will continue to add documents and information as we identify some of the most frequently requested public records.

Request for Department Records Policy (FDJJ - 1910) - This policy sets forth the Department's process for the production of these records.

For more information, please contact: