The Federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Act of 1974 as amended (42 U.S.C. 5601) was adopted by the U.S. Congress to establish a comprehensive nationwide program of juvenile delinquency prevention, offender rehabilitation, and juvenile justice system improvements. States that receive JJDP funds are required to comply with the mandates contained in the JJDP Act. Florida receives the benefits of the Federal JJDP Program, and this guide is designed to help justice professionals comply with the act's requirements. One of the mandates of the act is the prohibition of incarcerating juveniles in adult jails except under carefully defined and strictly controlled situations. In cases in which juveniles may legally be held in an adult facility, State and Federal law require total sight and sound separation between juvenile and adult detainees. Under no circumstance may a juvenile status offender be held in a secure adult detention facility. Neither should a status offender be placed in a secure juvenile detention facility except for a violation of a valid court order after due process rights have been provided. The information in this pamphlet is designed to assist Florida officials in achieving and maintaining compliance with the Federal JJDP Act and State law regarding juveniles. The guidelines include criteria for the nonsecure custody of status offenders and the placement of status offenders in secure juvenile detention facilities. Guidelines for prosecuting juveniles as adults address the direct filing of information, the juvenile court waiver, grand jury indictment, and juveniles found to have previously committed an offense as an adult. Regulations for the processing of juvenile traffic offenders cover taking juveniles into custody and sentencing juvenile traffic offenders. The pamphlet concludes with procedures for accepting juveniles in adult jails.