Florida Justice Center Works with Probation Officers to Help People Early Terminate Probation

Florida Justice Center Works with Probation Officers to Help People Early Terminate Probation

Helping those doing well on probation, legal aid organization partners to end supervision for those completing half their sentence.

Miami, FL (March 9, 2023) –

There are currently over 14,500 people on probation in Miami-Dade County. Many of these individuals have completed all terms of their supervision and have turned their lives around but are simply waiting years for their probation to expire. Most cannot afford an attorney to help them end their termination early. Starting in January of this year, Florida Justice Center began an informal partnership with the Florida Department of Corrections in Miami-Dade County to do just that: help those who have succeeded on probation and are no longer in need of supervision to early terminate and move forward with their lives.

By assisting those who are exceling while on probation from further supervision, Florida Justice Center is able to remove one enormous barrier to success. Many employers will not hire someone who is on supervision, probation officers show up at the workplace unannounced, employees miss at least one workday a month to report to the probation office, and many landlords will not rent to someone on probation. Additionally, Florida Justice Center is helping to reduce the number of people unnecessarily incarcerated in the state due to needless technical violations that anyone can unknowingly commit.

Not only does the person on supervision benefit from early termination, but the Florida Department of Corrections does as well. Officers have less probationers to supervise, allowing them to weed out those that are not a problem and focus more on those that require more intensive monitoring. Furthermore, supervision costs over $4,000 annually per probationer. This equates to millions of dollars each year that can be saved with this program.

“We need to uplift those succeeding on probation and empower them to get better jobs, higher income, and safer housing options by ending their term of supervision. For those who have shown true rehabilitation and are abiding by the rules, please know we are here to support you,” said Florida Justice Center Executive Director Jonathan Bleiweiss.

Qualifications for Florida Justice Center’s probation program include having completed half their term of supervision, having completed all terms of supervision (such as financial obligations and therapy programs), and have a probation officer who does not object to their early termination. Florida Justice Center attorneys will file all paperwork and appear in court on behalf of the probationer. This service is currently only offered in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties.

This service is free for those referred to Florida Justice Center by their probation officer regardless of income, as well as for those making less than twice the Federal Poverty Guidelines. Those making more than twice the FPG will be charged sliding scale fees as published at FLJC.org/services/sliding-scale-fees

To learn more about this service, please visit FLJC.org/services/probation