Florida suspends visitation at juvenile justice detention facilities

Family and friends of youths in detention facilities will no longer be able to visit them under an emergency order announced Friday, as part of Florida’s effort to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The visitation suspension is in effect until April 15.

“This is a measure we do not take lightly, but we find it necessary to restrict the movement of individuals into our facilities to prioritize the health of youth in our custody, in addition to our agency and contracted provider staff,” said Department of Juvenile Justice Secretary Simone Marstiller in a statement. “We will work diligently to maintain regular communication between youth and their families.”

The Department of Juvenile Justice “has no known or suspected cases of COVID-19 at this time,” the news release said.

The suspension does not apply to attorneys, medical staff, law enforcement or teachers providing educational programming, according to the order, which stated that those people will still be screened for the coronavirus.

The Department of Juvenile Justice operates 21 juvenile detention facilities in Florida. This order applies both to those lockups and residential commitment programs.

This story was originally published March 20, 2020 at 11:51 AM.