| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to guardians ad litem; amending s. 61.402, |
| 3 | F.S.; authorizing a person certified by a not-for-profit |
| 4 | legal aid organization to serve as a guardian ad litem in |
| 5 | a dissolution of marriage proceeding that does not involve |
| 6 | child abuse, abandonment, or neglect; requiring that such |
| 7 | person undergo a security background investigation and |
| 8 | undergo training in a program developed by The Florida |
| 9 | Bar; providing for training developed by a curriculum |
| 10 | committee of the not-for-profit organization pending the |
| 11 | development of the bar's program; providing a penalty for |
| 12 | failing to disclose a material fact in an application to |
| 13 | act as a guardian ad litem; providing an effective date. |
| 14 |
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| 15 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 16 |
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| 17 | Section 1. Section 61.402, Florida Statutes, is amended to |
| 18 | read: |
| 19 | 61.402 Qualifications of guardians ad litem.-- |
| 20 | (1) A person appointed as a guardian ad litem pursuant to |
| 21 | s. 61.401 must be: either a citizen |
| 22 | (a) Certified by the Guardian Ad Litem Program pursuant to |
| 23 | s. 39.821; |
| 24 | (b) Certified by a not-for-profit legal aid organization |
| 25 | as defined in s. 68.096; to act in family law cases or |
| 26 | (c) An attorney who is a member in good standing of The |
| 27 | Florida Bar. |
| 28 | (2) Prior to certifying a guardian ad litem pursuant to |
| 29 | paragraph (1)(b) to be appointed under this chapter, the not- |
| 30 | for-profit legal aid organization Guardian Ad Litem Program |
| 31 | must: |
| 32 | (a) Conduct a security background investigation as |
| 33 | described provided in s. 39.821; and. |
| 34 | (b) Provide training using the uniform objective statewide |
| 35 | training program for guardians ad litem developed by The Florida |
| 36 | Bar. Pending the development of the bar's training program, a |
| 37 | not-for-profit legal aid organization may develop and use its |
| 38 | own curriculum. The creators of the organization's training |
| 39 | curriculum must include at least one family court judge, a |
| 40 | mental health professional whose practice concentrates on the |
| 41 | treatment of children, and two attorneys who are members of the |
| 42 | Family Law Section of The Florida Bar and who have served as |
| 43 | guardians ad litem under this chapter. |
| 44 | (3) Only a guardian ad litem who qualifies under paragraph |
| 45 | (1)(a) or paragraph (1)(c) may be appointed to a case in which |
| 46 | the court has determined that there are well-founded allegations |
| 47 | of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect as defined in s. 39.01. |
| 48 | (4) This section does not require the Guardian Ad Litem |
| 49 | Program or any not-for-profit legal aid organization to train or |
| 50 | certify guardians ad litem appointed under this chapter. |
| 51 | (5) It is a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as |
| 52 | provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083, for any person to |
| 53 | willfully, knowingly, or intentionally fail by false statement, |
| 54 | misrepresentation, impersonation, or other fraudulent means to |
| 55 | disclose in an application for a guardian ad litem any material |
| 56 | fact used in making a determination as to the applicant's |
| 57 | qualifications for such position. |
| 58 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009. |