Florida Justice Center, Inc.
Giving people second chances.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Florida Justice Center addresses the needs of those negatively affected by the justice system and provides them with the proper resources to successfully reintegrate into their communities. People that are justice involved, such as being subject to an arrest or conviction, have difficulty acclimating after their release. Many of these individuals have unaddressed mental health issues, no support networks, and no resources to help them transition into society. Without the proper resources to address their needs these individuals often end up being reincarcerated. Florida Justice Center attempts to break the cycle of incarceration and provide personalized treatment plans to those seeking assistance. Through our holistic approach, we provide services that address employment, housing, mental health services, familial counseling, and legal assistance. Florida Justice Center is here to help the victims of the justice system and help them thrive in their communities.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Legal Defense
The Legal Defense Program connects pro bono criminal defense attorneys with low-income individuals who have been arrested anywhere in Florida with a special focus on social justice advocates, first-time offenders, and military veterans.
Case Management
Helping people who have recently been released from prison succeed in their return to society by conducting needs assessments and connecting them to social services in order to help them live better lives and avoid further involvement in the courts.
Florida Bail Fund
Providing bail assistance to those who have been arrested to help them avoid disenfranchisement. We assist social justice advocates, first-time offenders, and military veterans.
Behavioral Health
We provide individual behavioral health counseling for returning citizens from prison by licensed clinicians in order to help address mental health issues. We also conduct peer and professional led support groups for a variety of situations.
Where we work
Accreditations
Florida 3rd Party Voter Registration organization 2020
External reviews

Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Florida Justice Center seeks to end the cycle of incarceration and treat the needs of justice involved individuals. The justice system is an institution that favors the privileged and subjects marginalized communities to inhumane conditions. The justice system does little to rehabilitate its inhabitants and exacerbates the reason for their incarceration. Our goal is to address the reason for their incarceration's through our mental and social services. We work to treat the individual and help them successfully reintegrate into their communities.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Florida Justice Center provides a holistic approach in our treatment for our clients. We begin by developing a personalized treatment plan that entails all the services our clients may need from our mental health counseling to our social services. Once the plan is created, we regularly meet with our clients to track their progress, provide counseling, and connect them with the proper services to get them back on their feet. Our mental health facilities help our clients develop healthy coping mechanisms, provide anger management, deal with substance abuse, and reestablish healthy relationships with their support networks. Our social services provide connections to legal assistance, housing, employment, food stamps, and gaining state identification. We attempt to provide all the resources possible for our clients so that they have an opportunity to reestablish themselves in their community.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Florida Justice Center has a trained staff of behavioral health, case management, and legal professionals that help our clients navigate our wide selection of services. Upon arriving we have our case management personal provide intake for our clients. Once the intake procedures are complete, our resident social workers develop a personalized treatment strategy for each of our clients. Our staff works with our clients through appointments, and routine calls, to monitor their progress. We regularly review the effectiveness of our strategy and see if there are any areas that may need to be adjusted. Our mental health facilities are on site for our clients and supervised by clinical social workers who provide counseling and referral services. Our social services are comprised of volunteer attorneys, assistance programs, and other nonprofit organizations that we connect our clients to. We regularly keep in touch with our partners about our client’s progress and ensure their needs are met. After about 6 months, we review our client’s case and determine whether they need additional assistance, through referral programs, or if they are successfully reintegrating into their communities.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Florida Justice Center is the first criminal legal aid organization in the state of Florida and an approved third-party voter registration organization. This past year (2020), we have provided bail assistance for over 18 individuals, defense attorneys for 19, and re-enfranchised 24 ineligible voters. We were also mentioned in popular media outlets such as Vogue Magazine, the Rolling Stone, and The Wall Street Journal.
The next step for us is to open our new reentry center at the start of 2021. We wish to double the number of clients we provide assistance to, while also increasing our range of services. We have been in contact with local universities to establish an internship program here at our reentry center to guide our community’s future leaders. By this time next year we hope to triple our social media following and to be more established in the Broward County area.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?
Electronic surveys (by email, tablet, etc.), Case management notes, Suggestion box/email,
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve,
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With whom is the organization sharing feedback?
Our staff, Our board,
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time, It is difficult to get honest feedback from the people we serve,
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Florida Justice Center, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 9/27/2021
Dr. Richard Louis
Broward College
Term: 2020 - 2021
Karl Vinola
Jonathan Bleiweiss
Florida Justice Center
Richard Louis
Broward College
Derek Lee
Compass Realty
Sheleena Taylor
Kenisha Bryant
Broward County
Jessenia Rosales
Law Office of Jessenia Rosales, P.A.
Luzumaris Cruz
Henderson Behavioral Health
Marie Torossian
Quantum CPAs and Advisors
Melba Pearson
Florida International University
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Not applicable -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Not applicable
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? GuideStar partnered on this section with CHANGE Philanthropy and Equity in the Center.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.
Equity strategies
Last updated: 04/11/2020GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.