HB 0439 2003
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to guardians ad litem; providing
3	legislative intent creating the Statewide Guardian Ad
4	Litem Office within the Justice Administrative Commission;
5	providing for the appointment of an executive director;
6	providing for duties; providing oversight responsibility
7	for local guardian ad litem programs; providing for the
8	transfer of the attorney ad litem pilot program and the
9	funds and positions associated with the Guardian Ad Litem
10	Program to the Statewide Guardian Ad Litem Office;
11	providing an effective date.
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13	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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15	Section 1.Statewide Guardian Ad Litem Office;
16	legislative findings and intent; creation; appointment of
17	executive director; duties of office.--
18	(1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.--
19	(a) The Legislature finds that for the past 20 years, the
20	Guardian Ad Litem Program has been the only mechanism for best
21	interest representation for children in Florida who are involved
22	in dependency proceedings.
23	(b) The Legislature also finds that while the Guardian Ad
24	Litem Program has been supervised by the Office of the State
25	Courts Administrator since the program's inception, there is a
26	perceived conflict of interest created by the supervision of
27	program staff by the judges before whom they appear.
28	(c) The Legislature further finds that the Guardian Ad
29	Litem Program has not been identified as a core element of the
30	judicial branch and is therefore scheduled to be moved out of the
31	branch in 2004 as a result of Article V, Revision 7.
32	(d) It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to
33	place the Guardian Ad Litem Program in an appropriate place and
34	provide a statewide infrastructure to increase functioning and
35	standardization among the local programs currently operating in
36	the 20 judicial circuits.
37	(2) STATEWIDE GUARDIAN AD LITEM OFFICE.--There is created
38	a Statewide Guardian Ad Litem Office within the Justice
39	Administrative Commission. The Justice Administrative Commission
40	shall provide administrative support and service to the office to
41	the extent requested by the executive director within the
42	available resources of the commission. The Statewide Guardian Ad
43	Litem Office shall not be subject to control, supervision, or
44	direction by the Justice Administrative Commission in the
45	performance of its duties.
46	(a) The head of the Statewide Guardian Ad Litem Office is
47	the executive director, who shall be appointed by the Governor in
48	consultation with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The
49	executive director must have knowledge in dependency law and
50	knowledge of social service delivery systems available to meet
51	the needs of children who have been adjudicated dependent. The
52	executive director shall serve on a full-time basis and shall
53	personally, or through representatives of the office, carry out
54	the purposes and functions of the Statewide Guardian Ad Litem
55	Office in accordance with state and federal law. The executive
56	director shall serve at the pleasure of and report to the
57	Governor.
58	(b) The Statewide Guardian Ad Litem Office shall, within
59	available resources, have oversight responsibilities for and
60	provide technical assistance to all guardian ad litem programs
61	located within the judicial circuits.
62	1. The office shall review the current guardian ad litem
63	programs in Florida and other states.
64	2. The office, in consultation with local guardian ad
65	litem offices, shall develop statewide performance measures and
66	standards.
67	3. The office shall develop a guardian ad litem training
68	program. The office shall establish a curriculum committee to
69	develop the training program specified in this section. The
70	curriculum committee shall include, but not be limited to,
71	dependency judges, directors of circuit guardian ad litem
72	programs, active certified guardians ad litem, a mental health
73	professional who specializes in the treatment of children, a
74	member of a child advocacy group, a representative of the Florida
75	Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and a social worker
76	experienced in working with victims and perpetrators of child
77	abuse.
78	4. The office shall review the various methods of funding
79	guardian ad litem programs, shall maximize the use of those
80	funding sources to the extent possible, and shall review the
81	kinds of services being provided by circuit guardian ad litem
82	programs.
83	5. The office may conduct or contract for demonstration
84	projects, within funds appropriated or through gifts, grants, or
85	contributions for such purposes, to determine the feasibility or
86	desirability of new concepts of organization, administration,
87	financing, or service delivery designed to preserve the civil and
88	constitutional rights and fulfill other needs of dependent
89	children.
90	6. No later than October 1, 2004, the office shall
91	submit to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker
92	of the House of Representatives, and the Chief Justice of the
93	Supreme Court an interim report describing the progress of the
94	office in meeting the goals as described in this section. No
95	later than October 1, 2004, the office shall submit to the
96	Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House
97	of Representatives, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court a
98	proposed plan including alternatives for meeting the state's
99	guardian ad litem needs. This plan may include recommendations
100	for less than the entire state, may include a phase-in system,
101	and shall include estimates of the cost of each of the
102	alternatives. Each year thereafter, the office shall provide a
103	status report and provide further recommendations to address the
104	need for guardian ad litem services and related issues.
105	Section 2.Transfer of existing programs.--
106	(1) The pilot program for attorneys ad litem for
107	dependent children established in s. 39.4086, Florida Statutes,
108	shall be transferred from the Office of the State Courts
109	Administrator to the Statewide Guardian Ad Litem Office within
110	the Justice Administrative Commission.
111	(2) All funds and positions associated with the Guardian
112	Ad Litem Program in the Office of the State Courts Administrator
113	are transferred by a type two transfer, pursuant to s. 20.06(2),
114	Florida Statutes, to the Statewide Guardian Ad Litem Office
115	within the Justice Administrative Commission.
116	Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2003.
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