HB 0439 2003
1	CHAMBER ACTION
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6	The Committee on Judiciary recommends the following:
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8	Committee Substitute
9	Remove the entire bill and insert:
10	A bill to be entitled
11	An act relating to guardians ad litem; providing
12	legislative intent; creating the Statewide Guardian Ad
13	Litem Office within the Justice Administrative Commission;
14	providing for the appointment of an executive director;
15	providing for duties; providing oversight responsibility
16	for local guardian ad litem programs; providing for the
17	transfer of the attorney ad litem pilot program and the
18	funds and positions associated with the Guardian Ad Litem
19	Program to the Statewide Guardian Ad Litem Office;
20	providing an effective date.
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22	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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24	Section 1. Statewide Guardian Ad Litem Office;
25	legislative findings and intent; creation; appointment of
26	executive director; duties of office.--
27	(1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.--
28	(a) The Legislature finds that for the past 20 years, the
29	Guardian Ad Litem Program has been the only mechanism for best
30	interest representation for children in Florida who are involved
31	in dependency proceedings.
32	(b) The Legislature also finds that while the Guardian Ad
33	Litem Program has been supervised by court administration within
34	the circuit courts since the program's inception, there is a
35	perceived conflict of interest created by the supervision of
36	program staff by the judges before whom they appear.
37	(c) The Legislature further finds that the Governor’s
38	Blue Ribbon Task Force concluded that “if there is any program
39	that costs the least and benefits the most, this one is it,” and
40	that the guardian ad litem volunteer is an “indispensable
41	intermediary between the child and the court, between the child
42	and DCF.”
43	(d) It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to
44	place the Guardian Ad Litem Program in an appropriate place and
45	provide a statewide infrastructure to increase functioning and
46	standardization among the local programs currently operating in
47	the 20 judicial circuits.
48	(2) STATEWIDE GUARDIAN AD LITEM OFFICE.--There is created
49	a Statewide Guardian Ad Litem Office within the Justice
50	Administrative Commission. The Justice Administrative Commission
51	shall provide administrative support and service to the office
52	to the extent requested by the executive director within the
53	available resources of the commission. The Statewide Guardian Ad
54	Litem Office shall not be subject to control, supervision, or
55	direction by the Justice Administrative Commission in the
56	performance of its duties.
57	(a) The head of the Statewide Guardian Ad Litem Office is
58	the executive director, who shall be appointed by the Governor
59	from a list of a minimum of three eligible applicants submitted
60	by a Guardian Ad Litem Qualifications Committee. The Guardian Ad
61	Litem Qualifications Committee shall be composed of five
62	persons, two persons appointed by the Governor, two persons
63	appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and one
64	person appointed by the Statewide Guardian Ad Litem Association.
65	The committee shall provide for statewide advertisement and the
66	receiving of applications for the position of executive
67	director. The Governor shall appoint an executive director from
68	among the recommendations, or the Governor may reject the
69	nominations and request the submission of new nominees. The
70	executive director must have knowledge in dependency law and
71	knowledge of social service delivery systems available to meet
72	the needs of children who are abused, neglected, or abandoned.
73	The executive director shall serve on a full-time basis and
74	shall personally, or through representatives of the office,
75	carry out the purposes and functions of the Statewide Guardian
76	Ad Litem Office in accordance with state and federal law. The
77	executive director shall report to the Governor. The executive
78	director shall serve a 3-year term, subject to removal for cause
79	by the Governor. Any person appointed to serve as the executive
80	director may be permitted to serve more than one term.
81	(b) The Statewide Guardian Ad Litem Office shall, within
82	available resources, have oversight responsibilities for and
83	provide technical assistance to all guardian ad litem programs
84	located within the judicial circuits.
85	1. The office shall identify the resources required to
86	implement methods of collecting, reporting, and tracking
87	reliable and consistent case data.
88	2. The office shall review the current guardian ad litem
89	programs in Florida and other states.
90	3. The office, in consultation with local guardian ad
91	litem offices, shall develop statewide performance measures and
92	standards.
93	4. The office shall develop a guardian ad litem training
94	program. The office shall establish a curriculum committee to
95	develop the training program specified in this subparagraph. The
96	curriculum committee shall include, but not be limited to,
97	dependency judges, directors of circuit guardian ad litem
98	programs, active certified guardians ad litem, a mental health
99	professional who specializes in the treatment of children, a
100	member of a child advocacy group, a representative of the
101	Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and a social worker
102	experienced in working with victims and perpetrators of child
103	abuse.
104	5. The office shall review the various methods of funding
105	guardian ad litem programs, shall maximize the use of those
106	funding sources to the extent possible, and shall review the
107	kinds of services being provided by circuit guardian ad litem
108	programs.
109	6. The office may conduct or contract for demonstration
110	projects, within funds appropriated or through gifts, grants, or
111	contributions for such purposes, to determine the feasibility or
112	desirability of new concepts of organization, administration,
113	financing, or service delivery designed to preserve the civil
114	and constitutional rights and fulfill other needs of dependent
115	children.
116	7. No later than October 1, 2004, the office shall
117	submit to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker
118	of the House of Representatives, and the Chief Justice of the
119	Supreme Court an interim report describing the progress of the
120	office in meeting the goals as described in this section. No
121	later than October 1, 2004, the office shall submit to the
122	Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House
123	of Representatives, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court a
124	proposed plan including alternatives for meeting the state's
125	guardian ad litem needs. This plan may include recommendations
126	for less than the entire state, may include a phase-in system,
127	and shall include estimates of the cost of each of the
128	alternatives. Each year thereafter, the office shall provide a
129	status report and provide further recommendations to address the
130	need for guardian ad litem services and related issues.
131	Section 2. Transfer of existing programs.--
132	(1) The pilot program for attorneys ad litem for
133	dependent children established in s. 39.4086, Florida Statutes,
134	shall be transferred from the State Courts System to the
135	Statewide Guardian Ad Litem Office within the Justice
136	Administrative Commission. The Statewide Guardian Ad Litem
137	Office shall submit the final report required by s.
138	39.4086(2)(h), Florida Statutes, by October 1, 2004.
139	(2) All funds and positions associated with the Guardian
140	Ad Litem Program within the State Courts System are transferred
141	by a type two transfer, pursuant to s. 20.06(2), Florida
142	Statutes, to the Statewide Guardian Ad Litem Office within the
143	Justice Administrative Commission.
144	Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2003.