Deep Creek Youth Academy Facility Guide

Deep Creek Youth Academy Overview

Deep Creek Youth Academy is a residential commitment facility operated for the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice by the provider Youth Opportunity Investments. It serves moderate-risk male youth committed by a court to DJJ residential care. The program runs under state juvenile rules as a treatment and education setting, not as a county jail and not as part of the adult corrections system.

That difference shapes how anyone can search for a young person. Adult roster tools do not apply. Placement follows a commitment plan rather than the location of an arrest, so a youth from St. Johns County might be placed elsewhere and youth from other counties can be placed at Deep Creek. The academy appears on this site because it is a secure residential facility in the county, with a plain note that its records are confidential and not publicly searchable.

The Florida Department of Juvenile Justice Deep Creek Youth Academy page describes the program, its services, and contact details.

That official page is the authoritative source for the academy's services and visitation contact.

Deep Creek Youth Academy Capacity and Who Is Held

DJJ lists the academy with a capacity of 117 youth, the larger of the county's two juvenile academies. It serves moderate-risk male youth across a wider age band than St. Augustine Youth Academy, from 12 to 19. Length of stay depends on assessed risk of reoffending, progress in reducing risk factors, and completion of an individual treatment plan.

The program is built for youth who need intensive services, including intensive mental health, intensive medical care, and support related to borderline intellectual functioning, along with substance-abuse treatment.

How to Find a Youth in State Juvenile Care

There is no public juvenile roster. A young person at Deep Creek Youth Academy will not show on the county jail search, the state prison locator, or the federal locators, because juvenile information is protected. The right path runs through DJJ and the youth's case team.

1. Contact the youth's Juvenile Probation Officer, the assigned point of contact for placement.
2. If the officer is unknown, contact the Department of Juvenile Justice for help reaching the case team.
3. Call the academy directly for facility questions and visitation arrangements.
4. Do not rely on a public roster, since youth records are confidential under state rules.

Adults in county custody are found through different channels, which are set out on the jail inmate records page.

Deep Creek Youth Academy Address and Contact

The academy is in Hastings, in the rural southern part of the county, well away from the St. Augustine jail and court complex. DJJ asks families to contact the facility for visitation hours rather than publishing a set schedule.

DJJ lists Kenneth Owens as the facility administrator. Visitation is arranged through the facility, so call ahead before planning a trip.

Deep Creek Youth Academy Facility Facts

The table collects the key facts DJJ publishes for the academy. Like its sister facility, it is state owned and provider operated, which is why both DJJ and Youth Opportunity Investments are named.

Note: This is a juvenile treatment facility, so adult booking, bond, and roster terms do not apply to the youth held here.

Programs and Education at the Academy

Deep Creek pairs custody with intensive treatment. DJJ describes co-located residential commitment programs for moderate-risk male youth who require intensive mental-health and medical services, support for borderline intellectual functioning or related needs, and substance-abuse treatment. Youth receive psychotherapeutic services that include individual, family, and group counseling, with a stay length tied to progress on the treatment plan.

Education is provided through Florida Scholars Academy, the same schooling framework used across DJJ youth academies. It aims at a high school diploma or equivalency, industry-recognized credentials, and pathways into further study, so a youth can leave with both treatment progress and a credential.

Deep Creek stands out for the depth of services it offers. DJJ groups several co-located programs at the campus to serve youth who need intensive mental-health care, intensive medical support, and help related to borderline intellectual functioning or developmental needs, on top of substance-abuse treatment. The length of stay is not a fixed term. It depends on the assessed risk of reoffending, the youth's progress in reducing risk factors, and completion of an individualized treatment plan. That mix is why the academy serves a wider age range than many programs, from 12 through 19, and why placement here signals a higher level of need.

Juvenile Commitment and Placement

Youth arrive at Deep Creek Youth Academy through a court commitment to the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, not through an adult booking. When a judge commits a young person to residential care, the department weighs the youth's assessed needs and assigns a program that fits. DJJ describes its residential facilities as settings for youth a court has required to remain in care for an extended period. Deep Creek is built for youth who need intensive support, so a young person placed here often has medical, mental-health, or developmental needs that a lighter program could not meet.

Placement is driven by the commitment plan rather than where the arrest happened, so a youth from St. Johns County may be placed at another program and youth from across the state may be placed at Deep Creek. The family's main contact is the assigned Juvenile Probation Officer, who DJJ identifies as the person to ask when locating a child's facility. The department also lists a general questions line at 850-488-1850 on weekdays and an incident hotline at 1-800-355-2280 for urgent matters. Records remain confidential throughout, which is why no public roster lists the youth.

Why Deep Creek Is Not an Adult Jail

It is easy to assume any secure facility works like a jail, but Deep Creek does not. There is no booking record, no bond, no charge listing, and no public inmate search for the youth held here. Those are adult-custody features tied to the Sheriff's jail and the courts. Deep Creek is a treatment-focused residential program where the daily work is counseling, medical and mental-health care, and schooling, not pretrial detention.

The confidentiality of juvenile records is the reason a family cannot look a youth up online. Instead of a search box, the path runs through the youth's case team and the facility. Anyone trying to reach a young person at Deep Creek should contact the Juvenile Probation Officer and call the academy directly. Questions about an adult in custody are a different matter and are handled through the Sheriff's Office and the steps on the jail inmate records page.

Directions and Visiting Notes

DJJ's directions take visitors south on I-95 from Jacksonville for about 36 miles, then off the highway and right onto SR 207. From there the route follows SR 207 for about 12 miles, then turns right onto St. Johns Avenue, with the campus on the right. The Hastings location is rural, so allow extra travel time compared with the St. Augustine facilities.

Visitation is arranged through the facility, and DJJ does not publish a fixed public schedule, so families should call before traveling. Questions about a youth's placement and progress belong with the assigned Juvenile Probation Officer and the case team, not a public records search.