Florida Senate - 2009                             CS for SB 1018
       
       
       
       By the Committee on Judiciary; and Senator Joyner
       
       
       
       
       590-02983-09                                          20091018c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to guardians ad litem; amending s.
    3         61.402, F.S.; authorizing a person certified by a not
    4         for-profit legal aid organization to serve as a
    5         guardian ad litem in a dissolution of marriage
    6         proceeding that does not involve child abuse,
    7         abandonment, or neglect; requiring that such person
    8         undergo a security background investigation and
    9         undergo training in a program developed by The Florida
   10         Bar; providing a penalty for failing to disclose a
   11         material fact in an application to act as a guardian
   12         ad litem; providing an effective date.
   13  
   14  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   15  
   16         Section 1. Section 61.402, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   17  read:
   18         61.402 Qualifications of guardians ad litem.—
   19         (1) A person appointed as a guardian ad litem pursuant to
   20  s. 61.401 must be: either a citizen
   21         (a) Certified by the Guardian Ad Litem Program pursuant to
   22  s. 39.821;
   23         (b) Certified by a not-for-profit legal aid organization as
   24  defined in s. 68.096; to act in family law cases or
   25         (c) An attorney who is a member in good standing of The
   26  Florida Bar.
   27         (2) Prior to certifying a guardian ad litem pursuant to
   28  paragraph (1)(b) to be appointed under this chapter, the not
   29  for-profit legal aid organization Guardian Ad Litem Program
   30  must:
   31         (a) Conduct a security background investigation as
   32  described provided in s. 39.821. The not-for-profit legal aid
   33  organization has the sole discretion in determining whether to
   34  certify a person based on his or her security background
   35  investigation; and
   36         (b) Provide training using the uniform objective statewide
   37  training program for guardians ad litem developed by The Florida
   38  Bar.
   39         (3) Only a guardian ad litem who qualifies under paragraph
   40  (1)(a) or (1)(c) may be appointed to a case in which the court
   41  has determined that there are well-founded allegations of child
   42  abuse, abandonment, or neglect as defined in s. 39.01.
   43         (4) Nothing in this section requires the Guardian Ad Litem
   44  Program or a not-for-profit legal aid organization to train or
   45  certify guardians ad litem appointed under this chapter.
   46         (5) It is a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as
   47  provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083, for any person to
   48  willfully, knowingly, or intentionally fail, by false statement,
   49  misrepresentation, impersonation, or other fraudulent means, to
   50  disclose in an application for a guardian ad litem any material
   51  fact used in making a determination as to the applicant’s
   52  qualifications for such position.
   53         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.