Ana Ceballos
With a budget deal done, there is good news for juvenile detention and probation officers. They are getting a pay raise.
The House and Senate agreed Wednesday to set aside $8 million in pay raises for the more than 2,000 detention and probation officers who work with at-risk youth in the state. That amount goes hand in hand with Gov. Rick Scott’s spending plan proposal was before the Legislative Session began.
The money commitment will amount to a 10-percent pay raise, which Scott hopes will help recruit and retain better detention and probation officers to work in the Department of Juvenile Justice.
It also comes after an investigation by the Miami Herald exposed juvenile detainees being abused and exploited in the state system by those tasked to care and supervise them.
The “Fight Club” series found that over a 10-year period youth care workers would give detainees honey buns and other treats as a reward for beating other youth, revealing systemic misconduct at DJJ stemming from inexperienced and underpaid staff as well as inadequate personnel standards and a high tolerance for cover-ups.
The $8 million will be part of the $87 billion spending plan for the 2018-19 fiscal year.
