St. Augustine Youth Academy Facility Guide

St. Augustine Youth Academy Overview

St. Augustine Youth Academy is a residential commitment facility operated for the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice by the provider Youth Opportunity Investments. It serves high-risk and maximum-risk male youth between the ages of 14 and 18 who have been committed by a court to DJJ residential care. This is a treatment and education setting under state juvenile rules, not a county jail and not part of the adult corrections system.

The distinction matters for anyone searching for a young person. Adult jail logic does not apply here. A youth is placed by a commitment plan, not by the location of an arrest, so a young person from St. Johns County could be placed elsewhere and youth from other counties can be placed at this academy. The academy is included on this site because it is a secure residential facility physically in the county, with a clear note that its records are not publicly searchable.

The Florida Department of Juvenile Justice St. Augustine Youth Academy page describes the program, its risk levels, and contact details.

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

St. Augustine Youth Academy Capacity and Who Is Held

DJJ lists the academy with a capacity of 64 youth. It serves male youth ages 14 to 18 at high-risk and maximum-risk levels. The maximum-risk program carries a designated length of stay of 18 to 36 months, while the high-risk program length depends on assessed risk, progress, and an individual treatment plan.

The program provides behavioral and mental-health services, substance-abuse treatment, and evidence-based care, including individual, family, and group counseling.

How to Find a Youth in State Juvenile Care

There is no public inmate roster for juveniles. A young person at St. Augustine Youth Academy will not appear on the county jail search, the state prison locator, or the federal locators, because juvenile information is protected. The correct route is to work through DJJ and the youth's case team rather than a public search.

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

For adults in county custody, the public route is different and is covered on the jail inmate records page.

St. Augustine Youth Academy Address and Contact

The academy sits on Avenue D in St. Augustine, near the Lewis Speedway court and jail complex. DJJ directs families to contact the facility for visitation hours rather than publishing a fixed schedule.

DJJ lists Timothy Patterson as the facility administrator. Visitation hours are arranged through the facility, so call before planning a visit.

St. Augustine Youth Academy Facility Facts

The table gathers the key facts DJJ publishes for the academy. It is a state-owned, provider-operated program, which is why both DJJ and Youth Opportunity Investments are named.

Note: The academy 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

The academy pairs custody with treatment and schooling. DJJ describes co-located residential commitment programs that serve high-risk and maximum-risk male youth with behavioral and mental-health services, substance-abuse treatment, and evidence-based care. Counseling is delivered individually, with families, and in groups, and the length of stay is tied to progress on the youth's treatment plan.

Education runs through Florida Scholars Academy, which provides schooling aimed at a high school diploma or equivalency, industry-recognized credentials, and pathways to further study. The goal is to send a youth back to the community with both treatment progress and a credential, rather than only time served.

The maximum-risk track is the more structured of the two the academy runs. DJJ lists a designated length of stay of 18 to 36 months for that program, a longer window that reflects the higher level of supervision and treatment involved. The high-risk track does not carry a fixed term and instead ends based on assessed risk, measurable progress, and completion of the youth's individual plan. In both tracks, the work centers on reducing the factors that led to the commitment, so timelines depend on the young person rather than a flat sentence.

How Juvenile Commitment Works in Florida

A youth does not choose a juvenile academy, and neither does a parent. Placement at St. Augustine Youth Academy follows a court commitment to the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice. After a juvenile case, a judge can commit a youth to DJJ residential care, and the department then assigns a program matched to the youth's assessed risk level. DJJ describes residential facilities as places for young people a judge has required to stay in DJJ care for an extended time. Because the placement follows that commitment plan rather than the county of the arrest, a youth from St. Johns County may be sent to a program elsewhere, and youth from other counties may be placed at this academy.

The assigned Juvenile Probation Officer is the anchor for the family. DJJ tells families that the way to find a child's facility is to contact the youth's officer, who tracks placement and progress through the case. For general questions, the department runs a central line at 850-488-1850 on weekdays, and it lists an incident hotline at 1-800-355-2280 for urgent concerns. The facility itself handles day-to-day matters such as visitation scheduling. Through all of it, the youth's records stay confidential, which is the opposite of the open adult jail roster.

How the Academy Differs From the County Jail

The academy and the county jail sit in the same county but run on opposite rules. The jail is an adult facility where bookings, bond, charges, and a public roster are the norm. The academy is a juvenile treatment program where none of those public tools apply. A youth here is not booked into a searchable system, carries no public bond listing, and does not appear on the inmate population search that covers adults.

That difference exists to protect the youth. Florida law keeps juvenile records confidential, so the academy cannot confirm a young person's presence to the general public the way a jail roster might show an adult. Families work through the case team instead of a search box. The practical takeaway is simple. To reach a young person at St. Augustine Youth Academy, start with the Juvenile Probation Officer and the facility, not the county jail tools used elsewhere on this site. Adult custody questions belong with the Sheriff's Office and the channels on the jail inmate records page instead.

Directions and Visiting Notes

DJJ's own directions take visitors south on US 1 from Jacksonville into St. Augustine, then right onto Lewis Speedway, past the courthouse and jail, and right onto Avenue D. That route passes the same complex used for the adult jail and courts, which is a useful landmark for first-time visitors.

Visitation is arranged through the facility, and DJJ does not publish a fixed public schedule, so families should call ahead. Juvenile placement and progress questions belong with the youth's Juvenile Probation Officer and the case team rather than a public records search.