Senate Bill sb1858
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Florida Senate - 2001 SB 1858
By Senator Cowin
11-102A-01
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to child welfare; amending s.
3 39.301, F.S.; providing a procedure under which
4 a child may be temporarily removed from his or
5 her home while injunctive relief is sought;
6 providing requirements for a safety plan;
7 specifying circumstances under which a child
8 must be taken into protective custody while
9 injunctive relief is sought; amending s.
10 39.4086, F.S.; expanding the program for
11 attorneys ad litem for dependent children from
12 a pilot program within a specified judicial
13 circuit into a program in additional circuits;
14 requiring that the Office of the State Courts
15 Administrator administer the program or
16 contract with a public or private entity to
17 administer the program; providing for an
18 attorney to be appointed within the judicial
19 circuits to oversee the program; requiring the
20 Office of the State Courts Administrator to
21 develop a training program for attorneys ad
22 litem; providing procedures for the court to
23 appoint an attorney ad litem under the program;
24 requiring that the Office of the State Courts
25 Administrator evaluate the program and report
26 to the Legislature and the Governor; requesting
27 the State Supreme Court to adopt rules
28 governing the duties of attorneys ad litem;
29 amending s. 402.731, F.S.; requiring that the
30 Department of Children and Family Services
31 develop criteria for certifying employees and
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Florida Senate - 2001 SB 1858
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1 agents who conduct investigations involving
2 certain children who receive services from the
3 department or its service providers; providing
4 an effective date.
5
6 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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8 Section 1. Subsection (12) of section 39.301, Florida
9 Statutes, is amended to read:
10 39.301 Initiation of protective investigations.--
11 (12) If the child protective investigator determines
12 that the child can be maintained safely in the child's own
13 home only after injunctive relief has been granted pursuant to
14 s. 39.504, the investigator must file a request for injunction
15 and shall determine whether a parent or legal custodian is
16 available, willing, and capable of removing the child from the
17 home temporarily while the injunctive relief is sought.
18 (a) If a parent or legal custodian is available,
19 willing, and capable of removing the child from the home
20 temporarily while injunctive relief is sought and the parent
21 or legal custodian provides the child protective investigator
22 with a safety plan developed with the assistance of the child
23 protective investigator, the child shall be left in the
24 custody of the parent or legal custodian as long as the safety
25 plan is followed. In cases in which domestic violence is
26 occurring in the household, the protective investigator shall
27 request assistance from the local certified domestic violence
28 center in developing the safety plan.
29 (b) If a parent or legal custodian is not available,
30 willing, and capable of removing the child from the home
31 temporarily while injunctive relief is sought, if the parent
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Florida Senate - 2001 SB 1858
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1 or legal custodian is unable or unwilling to provide the child
2 protective investigator with a safety plan, if the child
3 protective investigator is unwilling to approve the safety
4 plan provided by the parent or legal custodian, or if the
5 parent or legal custodian fails to follow the approved safety
6 plan, the child shall be taken into protective custody while
7 injunctive relief is sought pursuant to s. 39.504.
8 (c)(a) If the department or its agent determines that
9 a child requires immediate or long-term protection through:
10 1. Medical or other health care; or
11 2. Homemaker care, day care, protective supervision,
12 or other services to stabilize the home environment, including
13 intensive family preservation services through the Family
14 Builders Program or the Intensive Crisis Counseling Program,
15 or both,
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17 such services must shall first be offered for voluntary
18 acceptance unless there are high-risk factors that may impact
19 the ability of the parents or legal custodians to exercise
20 judgment. Such factors may include the parents' or legal
21 custodians' young age or history of substance abuse or
22 domestic violence.
23 (d)(b) The parents or legal custodians shall be
24 informed of the right to refuse services, as well as the
25 responsibility of the department to protect the child
26 regardless of the acceptance or refusal of services. If the
27 services are refused and the department deems that the child's
28 need for protection so requires, the department shall take the
29 child into protective custody or petition the court as
30 provided in this chapter.
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1 (e)(c) The department, in consultation with the
2 judiciary, shall adopt by rule criteria that are factors
3 requiring that the department take the child into custody,
4 petition the court as provided in this chapter, or, if the
5 child is not taken into custody or a petition is not filed
6 with the court, conduct an administrative review. If after an
7 administrative review the department determines not to take
8 the child into custody or petition the court, the department
9 shall document the reason for its decision in writing and
10 include it in the investigative file. For all cases that were
11 accepted by the local law enforcement agency for criminal
12 investigation pursuant to subsection (2), the department must
13 include in the file written documentation that the
14 administrative review included input from law enforcement. In
15 addition, for all cases that must be referred to child
16 protection teams pursuant to s. 39.303(2) and (3), the file
17 must include written documentation that the administrative
18 review included the results of the team's evaluation. Factors
19 that must be included in the development of the rule include
20 noncompliance with the case plan developed by the department,
21 or its agent, and the family under this chapter and prior
22 abuse reports with findings that involve the child or
23 caregiver.
24 Section 2. Section 39.4086, Florida Statutes, is
25 amended to read:
26 39.4086 Pilot program for Attorneys ad litem for
27 dependent children.--
28 (1) LEGISLATIVE INTENT.--In furtherance of the goals
29 set forth in s. 39.4085, it is the intent of the Legislature
30 that children who are maintained in out-of-home care by court
31 order under s. 39.402 receive competent legal representation.
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1 (2) RESPONSIBILITIES.--
2 (a) The Office of the State Courts Administrator shall
3 establish an a 3-year pilot Attorney Ad Litem Program in the
4 Fifth, Ninth, Tenth, and Seventeenth Judicial Circuits
5 Circuit.
6 (b) The Office of the State Courts Administrator shall
7 administer establish the pilot program or in the Ninth
8 Judicial Circuit by October 1, 2000. The Ninth Judicial
9 Circuit may contract with a private or public entity in the
10 Ninth Judicial Circuit to administer establish the pilot
11 program. The private or public entity must have appropriate
12 expertise in representing the rights of children taken into
13 custody by the Department of Children and Family Services. The
14 Office of the State Courts Administrator shall identify
15 measurable outcomes, including, but not limited to, the impact
16 of counsel on child safety, improvements in the provision of
17 appropriate services, and any reduction in the length of stay
18 of children in state care. The pilot program shall be
19 established and operate independently of any other state
20 agency responsible for the care of children taken into
21 custody.
22 (c) The Office of the State Courts Administrator Ninth
23 Judicial Circuit shall designate an attorney within each the
24 Ninth judicial circuit specified in paragraph (a) to conduct
25 the administrative oversight of the pilot program within the
26 circuit. The program administrator must be a member in good
27 standing of The Florida Bar and must have 5 or more years of
28 experience in the area of child advocacy, child welfare, or
29 juvenile law. The administrative oversight of the pilot
30 program is subject to supervision by the Ninth Judicial
31 Circuit.
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1 (d) The Office of the State Courts Administrator in
2 conjunction with the pilot program shall develop a training
3 program for attorneys ad litem which includes, but need not be
4 limited to, appropriate standards of practice for attorneys
5 who represent children.
6 (e) Within funds specifically appropriated for this
7 pilot program, the Office of the State Courts Administrator in
8 conjunction with the pilot program shall design an appropriate
9 attorney ad litem program, and may establish the number of
10 attorneys needed to serve as attorneys ad litem, and may
11 employ attorneys and other personnel. An attorney ad litem
12 must be a member in good standing of The Florida Bar and may
13 not serve as an attorney ad litem until he or she has
14 completed the training program.
15 (f) The court shall appoint the entity responsible for
16 representation of children in the Fifth, Ninth, Tenth, and
17 Seventeenth Judicial Circuits Circuit under the pilot program
18 who are continued in out-of-home care at the shelter hearing
19 conducted under s. 39.402 if the court deems attorney ad litem
20 representation necessary. At any time following the shelter
21 hearing, the court may appoint an attorney ad litem upon the
22 motion of any party, or upon the court's own motion if an
23 attorney ad litem has not yet been appointed and the court
24 deems such representation necessary. The attorney ad litem's
25 representation shall be limited to proceedings initiated under
26 this chapter only. The court must appoint a guardian ad litem
27 pursuant to s. 39.822 for all children who have been appointed
28 an attorney ad litem. Upon this action by the court, the
29 department shall provide to the administrator, at a minimum,
30 the name of the child, the location and placement of the
31 child, the name of the department's authorized agent and
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1 contact information, copies of all notices sent to the parent
2 or legal custodian of the child, and other information or
3 records concerning the child.
4 (g) Upon the court's direction, the pilot program
5 administrator shall assign an attorney ad litem to represent
6 the child. Once assigned, the attorney ad litem shall
7 represent the child's wishes for purposes of proceedings under
8 this chapter as long as the child's wishes are consistent with
9 the safety and well-being of the child. The child's attorney
10 must in all circumstances fulfill the same duties of advocacy,
11 loyalty, confidentiality, and competent representation which
12 are due an adult client. The court must approve any action by
13 the attorney ad litem restricting access to the child by the
14 guardian ad litem or by any other party. The attorney ad litem
15 shall represent the child until the program is discharged by
16 order of the court because permanency has been achieved or the
17 court believes that the attorney ad litem is no longer
18 necessary.
19 (h) The Office of the State Courts Administrator shall
20 conduct research and gather statistical information to
21 evaluate the establishment, operation, and impact of the pilot
22 program in meeting the legal needs of dependent children. In
23 assessing the effects of the pilot program, including
24 achievement of outcomes identified under paragraph (b), the
25 evaluation must include a comparison of children within the
26 Ninth Judicial Circuit who are appointed an attorney ad litem
27 with those who are not. The office shall submit a report to
28 the Legislature and the Governor by October 1, 2001, and by
29 October 1, 2002, regarding its findings. The office shall
30 submit a final report by October 1, 2003, which must include
31 an evaluation of the pilot program; findings on the
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Florida Senate - 2001 SB 1858
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1 feasibility of a statewide program; and recommendations, if
2 any, for locating, establishing, and operating a statewide
3 program.
4 (3) STANDARDS.--The Supreme Court is requested, by
5 October 1, 2000, to adopt rules of juvenile procedure which
6 govern include the duties, responsibilities, and conduct of an
7 attorney ad litem. The Office of the State Courts
8 Administrator, in consultation with the Dependency Court
9 Improvement Committee of the Supreme Court, shall develop
10 implementation guidelines for the attorney ad litem pilot
11 program.
12 (4) FUNDING.--The sums of $1,040,111 in recurring
13 funds and $48,674 in nonrecurring funds are appropriated from
14 the General Revenue Fund and two full-time-equivalent
15 positions are authorized for Court Operations--Circuit Courts
16 in the State Court System to operate the attorney ad litem
17 pilot program in the Ninth Judicial Circuit and provide
18 adequate guardian ad litem representation that is in the best
19 interests of all children involved in the pilot program. The
20 sum of $696,798 in recurring funds is appropriated from the
21 General Revenue Fund, and 14 full-time equivalent positions
22 are authorized, for the circuit court budget to ensure best
23 interests representation by the Guardian Ad Litem Program as
24 part of the pilot program. The sum of $75,000 in nonrecurring
25 funds is appropriated from the General Revenue Fund to the
26 Supreme Court for the Office of the State Courts Administrator
27 for the purpose of evaluating the pilot program.
28 (5) The provisions in this section of the act shall
29 take effect October 1, 2000.
30 Section 3. Subsection (1) of section 402.731, Florida
31 Statutes, is amended to read:
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1 402.731 Department of Children and Family Services
2 certification programs for employees and service providers;
3 employment provisions for transition to community-based
4 care.--
5 (1) The Department of Children and Family Services is
6 authorized to create certification programs for its employees
7 and service providers to ensure that only qualified employees
8 and service providers provide client services. The department
9 shall develop specific criteria for certifying employees and
10 agents who conduct investigations that involve children who
11 have developmental disabilities, emotional disturbances, or
12 chronic medical conditions and that involve children who
13 reside in residential treatment facilities. The department is
14 authorized to develop rules that include qualifications for
15 certification, including training and testing requirements,
16 continuing education requirements for ongoing certification,
17 and decertification procedures to be used to determine when an
18 individual no longer meets the qualifications for
19 certification and to implement the decertification of an
20 employee or agent.
21 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2001.
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2 SENATE SUMMARY
3 Provides for temporarily removing a child from his or her
home while injunctive relief is sought from the court.
4 Requires that the child be taken into protective custody
while injunctive relief is sought if specified conditions
5 cannot be met. Expands the pilot program for attorneys ad
litem for dependent children into the Fifth, Ninth,
6 Tenth, and Seventeenth Judicial Circuits. Requires that
the Office of the State Courts Administrator administer
7 the program or contract for the administration of the
program. Requires a training program for the attorneys ad
8 litem. Provides for program evaluation. Requires that the
Office of the State Courts Administrator report to the
9 Legislature and the Governor. Requires that the
Department of Children and Family Services develop
10 criteria for certifying employees and agents who
investigate the services provided to certain children by
11 the department or its service providers. (See bill for
details.)
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