- Services
- Director's Message
- Mission
- Vision
- Objectives
- Location
Court Services Director's MessageA Message from the Director
Who We Are Welcome to the Alachua County Department of Court Services official website. We believe in informing the public in the spirit of transparency about the programs and services we offer to our client population. Our primary mission is to reduce the need of incarceration by providing the court with timely and accurate information, provide community-based supervision and therapeutic services with an emphasis on accountability and public safety. We promote fairness, equity, and due process in the administration of justice.
What We Do The programs we provide are the heartbeat of Court Services. Our programs meet the various needs of the client population we serve in such areas as mental health, pretrial, probation, community services, work release, substance abuse treatment, drug court and Veteran’s court. We are a collaborative body with the judiciary; State Attorney’s Office; Public Defender; Sheriff and Department of the Jail staff, along with other community partners.
Why We Do What We Do Our vision is simple—to uphold our values of dignity and fairness. To remain professional, compassionate, and available to the community. We are accountable to the Board of County Commissioners; the County Manager; the clients we serve; our key stakeholders; and the community at large. We believe in the presumption of innocence and release emphasizing risk-based decisions over holds and secured bonds in addition to providing recommendations to the court on all Court Services programs for which a client may qualify. We are committed to achieving and maintaining accreditations with the National Association of Pretrial Services Agencies and the Florida Corrections Accreditation Commission. We strive to remain transparent in our business practices while protecting the privacy of our clients and remaining accountable for preserving public safety.
Finally, I encourage you to explore our website, read the client surveys for each of our programs and learn more about the Court Services footprint in our community. Thank you!
Michael Arizmendi
Director
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Court Services Mission
To reduce the need for incarceration by rendering timely and accurate information to the Court while providing a continuum of cost-effective, community-based supervision and therapeutic services to the citizens of Alachua County with emphasis on accountability and preserving public safety.
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Court Services Vision- Our services will be professional, compassionate, and consistently available to the community.
- Dignity and fairness will serve as our guiding principles.
- We will have a seamless continuum of treatment and social services readily available and tailored to the needs of the individual client.
- No one will be incarcerated who can be effectively managed in the community.
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Court Services Key Objectives- By using evidenced based practices risk and needs assessments to operate various programs as alternatives for low-risk offenders to remain in the community
- Using programs that help ensure expensive jail beds are reserved for high-risk offenders
- Providing information to the Court so judges can make informed decisions about which offenders can be managed effectively in the community
- Engaging defendants in different treatment modalities
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Court Services LocationThe Department of Court Services is located in the Old Public Defender Building, at 35 North Main Street.
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Contact:
- General Inquiries
- 35 North Main Street
- Gainesville, FL 32601
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Phone: 352-338-7390
- TDD/TTY users, please call 711 (Florida Relay Service)
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Hours of Operation
- Monday 8:30am-5:00pm
- Tuesday 8:30am-5:00pm
- Wednesday 8:30am-5:00pm
- Thursday 8:30am-5:00pm
- Friday 8:30am-5:00pm
Transparency
View our Performance Measures Report:
Court Services Performance Measures