| 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 that the not-for-profit legal aid |
| 10 | organization has the sole discretion in determining |
| 11 | whether to certify a person based on his or her security |
| 12 | background investigation; specifying responsibility for |
| 13 | the payment of costs of the security background |
| 14 | investigation and training requirements; providing a |
| 15 | penalty for failing to disclose a material fact in an |
| 16 | application to act as a guardian ad litem; providing an |
| 17 | effective date. |
| 18 |
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| 19 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 20 |
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| 21 | Section 1. Section 61.402, Florida Statutes, is amended to |
| 22 | read: |
| 23 | 61.402 Qualifications of guardians ad litem.-- |
| 24 | (1) A person appointed as a guardian ad litem pursuant to |
| 25 | s. 61.401 must be: either a citizen |
| 26 | (a) Certified by the Guardian Ad Litem Program pursuant to |
| 27 | s. 39.821; |
| 28 | (b) Certified by a not-for-profit legal aid organization |
| 29 | as defined in s. 68.096; to act in family law cases or |
| 30 | (c) An attorney who is a member in good standing of The |
| 31 | Florida Bar. |
| 32 | (2)(a) Prior to certifying a guardian ad litem pursuant to |
| 33 | paragraph (1)(b) to be appointed under this chapter, the not- |
| 34 | for-profit legal aid organization Guardian Ad Litem Program |
| 35 | must: |
| 36 | 1. Conduct a security background investigation as |
| 37 | described provided in s. 39.821 for which the not-for-profit |
| 38 | legal aid organization has the sole discretion in determining |
| 39 | whether to certify a person based on his or her security |
| 40 | background investigation; and. |
| 41 | 2. Provide training using the uniform objective statewide |
| 42 | training program for guardians ad litem developed by The Florida |
| 43 | Bar. |
| 44 | (b) The security background investigation and the training |
| 45 | program requirements as provided in this subsection must be paid |
| 46 | for by the not-for-profit legal aid organization or the person |
| 47 | seeking certification as a guardian ad litem through the not- |
| 48 | for-profit legal aid organization. |
| 49 | (3) Only a guardian ad litem who qualifies under paragraph |
| 50 | (1)(a) or paragraph (1)(c) may be appointed to a case in which |
| 51 | the court has determined that there are well-founded allegations |
| 52 | of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect as defined in s. 39.01. |
| 53 | (4) Nothing in this section requires the Guardian Ad Litem |
| 54 | Program or a not-for-profit legal aid organization to train or |
| 55 | certify guardians ad litem appointed under this chapter. |
| 56 | (5) It is a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as |
| 57 | provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083, for any person to |
| 58 | willfully, knowingly, or intentionally fail by false statement, |
| 59 | misrepresentation, impersonation, or other fraudulent means to |
| 60 | disclose in an application for a guardian ad litem any material |
| 61 | fact used in making a determination as to the applicant's |
| 62 | qualifications for such position. |
| 63 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009. |