Palm Beach County Main Detention, FL

Palm Beach Detention has strict approval and security rules for visitors. Parents, grandparents, and legal guardians are automatically approved. Anyone else needs a court order or specific approval from the Superintendent (or designee). Bring a photo ID and sign in and out on the youth's Visitor's Log. You can be denied entry for refusing a search, arriving intoxicated, lacking photo ID, or attempting to bring contraband. Visits happen in designated areas that are searched before and after each visit. Expect contraband checks plus electronic screening or a frisk search. Professional visitors—legal counsel, probation officers, clergy, and law enforcement—may visit outside regular hours but still must sign in and follow contraband procedures. Bringing unauthorized items into the facility is a third-degree felony. Disruptive behavior can end your visit immediately and lead to suspended privileges.

Need to report a complaint about Palm Beach Detention's safety, security, or services? Contact the Central Communications Center (CCC) right away. For a written option, fax the Office of the Inspector General at (850) 414-7182 or mail your complaint to 2737 Centerview Drive, Tallahassee, FL 32399-3100. A word of caution about email: under Florida law, any email address you provide to the Department of Juvenile Justice becomes a public record and may be released in response to a public-records request. Skip email if you want your address kept private. For routine questions about detainee status or records, use the facility's web page or the agency's non-emergency contact lines. For immediate danger, call local emergency services.

Palm Beach Regional Juvenile Detention Center is a 60-bed, hardware-secure facility housing youth held by circuit courts while awaiting adjudication, disposition, or placement. Youth receive education, mental-health, substance-abuse, and health-care services. Educational services are funded through the Department of Education via local school districts. A typical day includes hygiene, meals, school, structured activities, and court appearances. The average stay is about 11 days. The facility maintains Facility Operating Procedures and holds weekly Detention Review staffings led by the Superintendent (or designee) to review every youth on the census. Staff must complete the Electronic Commitment Packet by the disposition hearing date—no later than 24 hours before placement. When youth are transferred, their full hardcopy Individual Health Care Record travels with them. Reportable incidents must be phoned into the CCC within two hours.