CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.





                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT

    Bill No. SB 2566

    Amendment No.    

                            CHAMBER ACTION
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11  Senator Diaz-Balart moved the following amendment:

12

13         Senate Amendment (with title amendment) 

14         On page 76, following line 31

15

16  insert:

17         Section 45.  Pilot program for attorneys ad litem for

18  dependent children.--

19         (1)  LEGISLATIVE INTENT.--In furtherance of the goals

20  set forth in section 39.4085, Florida Statutes, it is the

21  intent of the Legislature that children who are maintained in

22  out-of-home care by court order under s. 39.402 receive

23  competent legal representation.

24         (2)  RESPONSIBILITIES.--

25         (a)  The Office of the State Courts Administrator shall

26  establish a 3-year pilot Attorney Ad Litem Program in Broward

27  County. The Office of the State Courts Administrator shall

28  adopt rules to administer the pilot program.

29         (b)  The Office of the State Courts Administrator shall

30  establish the pilot program in Broward County by October 1,

31  2000. The office may contract with a private or public entity

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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT

    Bill No. SB 2566

    Amendment No.    





 1  in Broward County to establish the pilot program. The private

 2  or public entity must have appropriate expertise in

 3  representing the rights of children taken into custody by the

 4  Department of Children and Family Services. The Office of the

 5  State Court Administrator or a private or public entity shall

 6  identify measurable outcomes, including, but not limited to,

 7  the impact of counsel on child safety, improvements in the

 8  provision of appropriate services, and any reduction in the

 9  length of stay of children in state care. The pilot program

10  shall be established and operate independently of any other

11  state agency responsible for the care of children taken into

12  custody.

13         (c)  The Office of the State Courts Administrator or

14  the private or public entity under contract with the office

15  shall designate an attorney within Broward County to conduct

16  the administrative oversight of the pilot program. The program

17  administrator must be a member in good standing of The Florida

18  Bar and must have 5 or more years of experience in the area of

19  child advocacy, child welfare, or juvenile law. The

20  administrative oversight of the pilot program is subject to

21  supervision by the office.

22         (d)  The Office of the State Courts Administrator in

23  conjunction with the pilot program shall develop a training

24  program for attorneys ad litem which includes, but need not be

25  limited to, appropriate standards of practice for attorneys

26  who represent children.

27         (e)  Within funds specifically appropriated for this

28  pilot program, the Office of the State Courts Administrator in

29  conjunction with the pilot program shall design an appropriate

30  attorney ad litem program and may establish the number of

31  attorneys needed to serve as attorneys ad litem and may employ

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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT

    Bill No. SB 2566

    Amendment No.    





 1  attorneys and other personnel. An attorney ad litem must be a

 2  member in good standing of The Florida Bar and may not serve

 3  as an attorney ad litem until he or she has completed the

 4  training program.

 5         (f)  The court shall appoint the Office of the State

 6  Courts Administrator or the entity under contract with the

 7  office to represent any child in Broward County under the

 8  pilot program who is continued in out-of-home care at the

 9  shelter hearing conducted under section 39.402, Florida

10  Statutes, if the court deems attorney ad litem representation

11  necessary. At any time following the shelter hearing, the

12  court may appoint an attorney ad litem upon the motion of any

13  party, or upon the court's own motion if an attorney ad litem

14  has not yet been appointed and the court deems such

15  representation necessary. The court must appoint a guardian ad

16  litem pursuant to s. 39.822 for all children who have been

17  appointed an attorney ad litem. Upon this action by the court,

18  the department shall provide to the administrator, at a

19  minimum, the name of the child, the location and placement of

20  the child, the name of the department's authorized agent and

21  contact information, copies of all notices sent to the parent

22  or legal custodian of the child, and other information or

23  records concerning the child.

24         (g)  Upon the court's direction, the pilot program

25  administrator shall assign an attorney ad litem to represent

26  the child. Once assigned, the attorney ad litem shall

27  represent the child's wishes for purposes of proceedings under

28  chapter 39, Florida Statutes. The child's attorney must in all

29  circumstances fulfill the same duties of advocacy, loyalty,

30  confidentiality, and competent representation which are due an

31  adult client. The court must approve any action by the

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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT

    Bill No. SB 2566

    Amendment No.    





 1  attorney ad litem restricting access to the child by the

 2  guardian ad litem or by any other party. The attorney ad litem

 3  shall represent the child until the program is discharged by

 4  order of the court because permanency has been achieved or the

 5  court believes that the attorney ad litem is no longer

 6  necessary.

 7         (h)  The Florida Interuniversity Consortium of

 8  Children, Family, and Community, under contract with the

 9  Office of the State Courts Administrator, shall conduct

10  research and gather statistical information to evaluate the

11  establishment, operation, and impact of the pilot program in

12  meeting the legal needs of dependent children. In assessing

13  the effects of the pilot program, including achievement of

14  outcomes identified under paragraph (2)(b), the evaluation

15  must include a comparison of children within Broward County

16  who are appointed an attorney ad litem with those who are not,

17  and a comparison of children appointed an attorney ad litem

18  within Broward County with children outside Broward County

19  whose cases are of a similar level of complexity. The office

20  shall submit a report to the Legislature by October 1, 2001,

21  and by October 1, 2002, regarding its findings. The office

22  shall submit a final report by October 1, 2003, which must

23  include an evaluation of the pilot program; findings on the

24  feasibility of a statewide program; and recommendations, if

25  any, for locating, establishing, and operating a statewide

26  program.

27         (3)  STANDARDS.--The Supreme Court is requested, by

28  October 1, 2000, to adopt rules of juvenile procedure which

29  include the duties, responsibilities, and conduct of an

30  attorney ad litem, in consideration of the Standards of

31  Practice for Lawyers Who Represent Children in Abuse and

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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT

    Bill No. SB 2566

    Amendment No.    





 1  Neglect Cases of the American Bar Association and the National

 2  Association for Counsel of Children Revised Version of the

 3  American Bar Association Standards. The rules shall assure

 4  that the attorney ad litem represents the child's wishes. The

 5  Office of the State Courts Administrator, in consultation with

 6  the Dependency Court Improvement Committee of the Supreme

 7  Court, shall develop implementation guidelines for the

 8  attorney ad litem pilot program.

 9         (4)  FUNDING.--The sums of $1,040,111 in recurring

10  funds and $48,674 in nonrecurring funds are appropriated from

11  the General Revenue Fund and two full-time-equivalent

12  positions are authorized for Court Operations - Circuit Courts

13  in the State Court System to operate the attorney ad litem

14  pilot program in Broward County and provide adequate guardian

15  ad litem representation that is in the best interests of all

16  children involved in the pilot program. The sum of $696,798 in

17  recurring funds is appropriated from the General Revenue Fund,

18  and 14 full-time equivalent positions are authorized, for the

19  circuit court budget to ensure best interests representation

20  by the Guardian Ad Litem Program as part of the pilot program.

21  The sum of $75,000 in nonrecurring funds is appropriated from

22  the General Revenue Fund to the Supreme Court for the Office

23  of the State Courts Administrator for the purpose of

24  evaluating the pilot program.

25

26  (Redesignate subsequent sections.)

27

28

29  ================ T I T L E   A M E N D M E N T ===============

30  And the title is amended as follows:

31         On page 3, line 24, following the semicolon

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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT

    Bill No. SB 2566

    Amendment No.    





 1  insert:

 2         providing legislative intent with respect to

 3         providing competent legal representation for

 4         children in state custody; requiring that the

 5         Office of the State Courts Administrator create

 6         a pilot Attorney Ad Litem Program in Broward

 7         County; authorizing the office to adopt rules

 8         to administer the pilot program; authorizing

 9         the office to contract with a private or public

10         entity to operate the pilot program; providing

11         for the pilot program to operate independently

12         of other state agencies responsible for the

13         care of children in state custody; providing

14         for administration of the program; requiring

15         that the Office of the State Courts

16         Administrator develop a training program for

17         attorneys ad litem; requiring that the court

18         direct the pilot program to assign an attorney

19         ad litem; requiring that the Department of

20         Children and Family Services provide

21         information to the pilot-program administrator;

22         providing for assigning an attorney ad litem to

23         represent the child's wishes; requiring the

24         Office of the State Courts Administrator to

25         make annual reports to the Legislature;

26         requiring that the Florida Interuniversity

27         Consortium of Children, Family, and Community

28         evaluate the pilot program; requesting that the

29         Supreme Court adopt rules of juvenile

30         procedure; providing appropriations for the

31         pilot program;

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