Summary

The Department of Juvenile Justice (Department) was created by the 1994 Legislature. Section 20.316, Florida Statutes, provides the organizational structure for the Department, and establishes a Secretary of Juvenile Justice, who is responsible for planning, coordinating, and managing the delivery of all programs and services within the juvenile justice continuum. The term "juvenile justice continuum" is defined as all children-in-need-of-services programs; families-in-need-of-services programs; other prevention, early intervention, and diversion programs; and, other related programs. Section 20.316(4), Florida Statutes, provides that the Department shall develop, in consultation with the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Information Systems Council, under Section 943.08, Florida Statutes, a juvenile justice information system which shall provide information concerning the Department’s activities and programs. Our audit of the Juvenile Justice Information System (JJIS) focused on determining the effectiveness of selected JJIS functions and Department general controls. As described below, we noted deficiencies in certain general and application controls related to JJIS.

• The Department had not established formal procedures for ensuring the accuracy and completeness of JJIS data.

• The Department did not maintain certain historical information, thereby reducing its ability to establish accountability for the data entered into JJIS.

• Improvements were needed in the Department’s access controls protecting JJIS data from improper disclosure and modification.

• The Department had not developed a security awareness training program.

• The Department had not produced and tested a current disaster recovery or business continuity plan.

The Secretary's written response to the audit findings and recommendations included in audit report No. 02-194 can be viewed as a part of the complete report filed on this Auditor General web site.