Senate Bill 1144c2
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Florida Senate - 2000 CS for CS for SB 1144
By the Committees on Fiscal Policy; Children and Families; and
Senator Diaz-Balart
300-2099A-00
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the representation of
3 dependent children; providing legislative
4 intent with respect to providing competent
5 legal representation for children in state
6 custody; requiring that the Statewide Public
7 Guardianship Office create a pilot Attorney Ad
8 Litem Program in Broward County; authorizing
9 the office to adopt rules to administer the
10 pilot program; authorizing the office to
11 contract with a private or public entity to
12 operate the pilot program; providing for the
13 pilot program to operate independently of other
14 state agencies responsible for the care of
15 children in state custody; providing for
16 administration of the program; requiring that
17 the Statewide Public Guardianship Office
18 develop a training program for attorneys ad
19 litem; requiring that the court direct the
20 pilot program to assign an attorney ad litem;
21 requiring that the Department of Children and
22 Family Services provide information to the
23 pilot-program administrator; providing for
24 assigning an attorney ad litem to represent the
25 child's wishes; requiring the Statewide Public
26 Guardianship Office to make annual reports to
27 the Legislature; requiring that the Office of
28 the State Court Administrator evaluate the
29 pilot program; requesting that the Supreme
30 Court adopt rules of juvenile procedure;
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1
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Florida Senate - 2000 CS for CS for SB 1144
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1 providing appropriations for the pilot program;
2 providing an effective date.
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4 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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6 Section 1. Pilot program for attorneys ad litem for
7 dependent children.--
8 (1) LEGISLATIVE INTENT.--In furtherance of the goals
9 set forth in section 39.4085, Florida Statutes, it is the
10 intent of the Legislature that children who are maintained in
11 out-of-home care by court order under s. 39.402 receive
12 competent legal representation.
13 (2) RESPONSIBILITIES.--
14 (a) The Statewide Public Guardianship Office shall
15 establish a 3-year pilot Attorney Ad Litem Program in Broward
16 County. The Statewide Public Guardianship Office shall adopt
17 rules to administer the pilot program.
18 (b) The Statewide Public Guardianship Office shall
19 establish the pilot program in Broward County by October 1,
20 2000. The office may contract with a private or public entity
21 in Broward County to establish the pilot program. The private
22 or public entity must have appropriate expertise in
23 representing the rights of children taken into custody by the
24 Department of Children and Family Services. The Statewide
25 Office of Public Guardianship or a private or public entity
26 shall identify measurable outcomes, including, but not limited
27 to, the impact of counsel on child safety, improvements in the
28 provision of appropriate services, and any reduction in the
29 length of stay of children in state care. The pilot program
30 shall be established and operate independently of any other
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Florida Senate - 2000 CS for CS for SB 1144
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1 state agency responsible for the care of children taken into
2 custody.
3 (c) The Statewide Public Guardianship Office or the
4 private or public entity under contract with the office shall
5 designate an attorney within Broward County to conduct the
6 administrative oversight of the pilot program. The program
7 administrator must be a member in good standing of The Florida
8 Bar and must have 5 or more years of experience in the area of
9 child advocacy, child welfare, or juvenile law. The
10 administrative oversight of the pilot program is subject to
11 supervision by the office.
12 (d) The Statewide Public Guardianship Office in
13 conjunction with the pilot program shall develop a training
14 program for attorneys ad litem which includes, but need not be
15 limited to, appropriate standards of practice for attorneys
16 who represent children.
17 (e) Within funds specifically appropriated for this
18 pilot program, the Statewide Public Guardianship Office in
19 conjunction with the pilot program shall design an appropriate
20 attorney ad litem program and may establish the number of
21 attorneys needed to serve as attorneys ad litem and may employ
22 attorneys and other personnel. An attorney ad litem must be a
23 member in good standing of The Florida Bar and may not serve
24 as an attorney ad litem until he or she has completed the
25 training program.
26 (f) The court shall appoint the Statewide Public
27 Guardianship Office or the entity under contract with the
28 office to represent any child in Broward County under the
29 pilot program who is continued in out-of-home care at the
30 shelter hearing conducted under s. 39.402 if the court deems
31 attorney ad litem representation necessary. At any time
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Florida Senate - 2000 CS for CS for SB 1144
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1 following the shelter hearing, the court may appoint an
2 attorney ad litem upon the motion of any party, or upon the
3 court's own motion if an attorney ad litem has not yet been
4 appointed and the court deems such representation necessary.
5 The court must appoint a guardian ad litem pursuant to s.
6 39.822 for all children who have been appointed an attorney ad
7 litem. Upon this action by the court, the department shall
8 provide to the administrator, at a minimum, the name of the
9 child, the location and placement of the child, the name of
10 the department's authorized agent and contact information,
11 copies of all notices sent to the parent or legal custodian of
12 the child, and other information or records concerning the
13 child.
14 (g) Upon the court's direction, the pilot program
15 administrator shall assign an attorney ad litem to represent
16 the child. Once assigned, the attorney ad litem shall
17 represent the child's wishes for purposes of proceedings under
18 chapter 39, Florida Statutes. The child's attorney must in all
19 circumstances fulfill the same duties of advocacy, loyalty,
20 confidentiality, and competent representation which are due an
21 adult client. The court must approve any action by the
22 attorney ad litem restricting access to the child by the
23 guardian ad litem or by any other party. The attorney ad litem
24 shall represent the child until the program is discharged by
25 order of the court because permanency has been achieved or the
26 court believes that the attorney ad litem is no longer
27 necessary.
28 (h) The Office of the State Courts Administrator, in
29 conjunction with the pilot program and in consultation with
30 the Florida Interuniversity Consortium of Children, Family,
31 and Community, shall conduct research and gather statistical
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1 information to evaluate the establishment, operation, and
2 impact of the pilot program in meeting the legal needs of
3 dependent children. In assessing the effects of the pilot
4 program, including achievement of outcomes identified under
5 paragraph (2)(b), the evaluation must include a comparison of
6 children within Broward County who are appointed an attorney
7 ad litem with those who are not, and a comparison of children
8 appointed an attorney ad litem within Broward County with
9 children outside Broward County whose cases are of a similar
10 level of complexity. The office shall submit a report to the
11 Legislature by October 1, 2001, and by October 1, 2002,
12 regarding its findings. The office shall submit a final report
13 by October 1, 2003, which must include an evaluation of the
14 pilot program; findings on the feasibility of a statewide
15 program; and recommendations, if any, for locating,
16 establishing, and operating a statewide program.
17 (3) STANDARDS.--The Supreme Court is requested, by
18 October 1, 2000, to adopt rules of juvenile procedure which
19 include the duties, responsibilities, and conduct of an
20 attorney ad litem, and which are consistent with the Standards
21 of Practice for Lawyers Who Represent Children in Abuse and
22 Neglect Cases of the American Bar Association.
23 (4) FUNDING.--The sums of $1,736,909 in recurring
24 funds and $48,674 in nonrecurring funds are appropriated from
25 the General Revenue Fund and 2 full-time-equivalent positions
26 are authorized for the Statewide Public Guardianship Office in
27 the Department of Elderly Affairs to operate the pilot program
28 in Broward County. The sum of $75,000 in nonrecurring funds is
29 appropriated from the General Revenue Fund to the Office of
30 the State Courts Administrator for the evaluation of the pilot
31 program.
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Florida Senate - 2000 CS for CS for SB 1144
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1 Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
2 law.
3
4 STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
5 CS/SB 1144
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7 Provides for one pilot Attorney Ad Litem Program in Broward
County (formerly three pilots in Broward, Escambia, and
8 Sarasota Counties).
9 Allows the court to decide on a case by case basis those
children who will continue in out of home care and need an
10 attorney ad litem appointed to represent their expressed
interests.
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Provides an appropriation of 2 positions and $1,736,909 in
12 recurring General Revenue funds and $48,674 in nonrecurring
General Revenue funds to the Statewide Public Guardianship
13 Office in the Department of Elderly Affairs to operate the
pilot program in Broward County. Provides $75,000 in
14 nonrecurring general revenue funds to the State Courts
Administrator for the evaluation of the pilot program.
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