| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to pregnant children and youth in out-of- |
| 3 | home care; amending s. 39.822, F.S.; requiring courts to |
| 4 | appoint by a specified time a pro bono attorney or |
| 5 | guardian ad litem for a child or youth in out-of-home care |
| 6 | who is pregnant; creating s. 39.8299, F.S.; requiring the |
| 7 | Statewide Guardian Ad Litem Office to establish a |
| 8 | Specialty Guardian Ad Litem Pilot Program in the Fourth |
| 9 | Judicial Circuit to serve children and youth in out-of- |
| 10 | home care who are pregnant; providing for development, |
| 11 | implementation, administration, and supervision of the |
| 12 | program; providing requirements for appointment of |
| 13 | specialty guardians ad litem by the court; specifying |
| 14 | information to be provided to the administrator after an |
| 15 | appointment is made; requiring that a pro bono attorney or |
| 16 | guardian ad litem be appointed if a specialty guardian ad |
| 17 | litem is not available; limiting the specialty guardian ad |
| 18 | litem's representation to proceedings under ch. 39, F.S., |
| 19 | or proceedings under s. 390.01114(4), F.S., upon the |
| 20 | request of the child or youth; providing that the |
| 21 | specialty guardian ad litem does not have the authority to |
| 22 | accept notice of termination of pregnancy; providing for a |
| 23 | guardian ad litem to be appointed at the end of the |
| 24 | specialty guardian ad litem's representation; providing |
| 25 | that the pilot program and specialty guardians ad litem |
| 26 | are subject to s. 39.822, F.S., relating to the |
| 27 | appointment of a guardian ad litem for an abused, |
| 28 | neglected, or abandoned child; providing that funding is |
| 29 | contingent upon a specific appropriation in the General |
| 30 | Appropriations Act; amending s. 409.146, F.S.; requiring |
| 31 | the children and families client and management |
| 32 | information system to include information concerning the |
| 33 | status and outcomes of pregnant children and youth in |
| 34 | licensed care; requiring community-based providers and |
| 35 | subcontractors to report specified pregnancy and outcome |
| 36 | data to the Department of Children and Family Services; |
| 37 | specifying reporting procedures; providing an effective |
| 38 | date. |
| 39 |
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| 40 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 41 |
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| 42 | Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 39.822, Florida |
| 43 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 44 | 39.822 Appointment of guardian ad litem for abused, |
| 45 | abandoned, or neglected child.- |
| 46 | (1)(a) A guardian ad litem shall be appointed by the court |
| 47 | at the earliest possible time to represent the child in any |
| 48 | child abuse, abandonment, or neglect judicial proceeding, |
| 49 | whether civil or criminal. |
| 50 | (b) At the first hearing after the court is notified that |
| 51 | a child or youth in out-of-home care is pregnant, the court |
| 52 | shall appoint a pro bono attorney, or a guardian ad litem if a |
| 53 | pro bono attorney is not available, for the child or youth. |
| 54 | (c) Any person participating in a civil or criminal |
| 55 | judicial proceeding resulting from an such appointment pursuant |
| 56 | to this subsection shall be presumed prima facie to be acting in |
| 57 | good faith and in so doing shall be immune from any liability, |
| 58 | civil or criminal, that otherwise might be incurred or imposed. |
| 59 | Section 2. Section 39.8299, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 60 | to read: |
| 61 | 39.8299 Specialty Guardian Ad Litem Pilot Program for |
| 62 | pregnant children or youth in out-of-home care.- |
| 63 | (1) RESPONSIBILITIES.- |
| 64 | (a) By October 1, 2010, the Statewide Guardian Ad Litem |
| 65 | Office shall establish a 3-year Specialty Guardian Ad Litem |
| 66 | Pilot Program in the Fourth Judicial Circuit to serve children |
| 67 | and youth in out-of-home care who are pregnant. |
| 68 | (b) The Statewide Guardian Ad Litem Office shall designate |
| 69 | a guardian ad litem in the Fourth Judicial Circuit as the |
| 70 | administrator of the pilot program. The administrator must meet |
| 71 | the qualifications for guardians ad litem as specified in s. |
| 72 | 39.821 and have 5 or more years of experience in the area of |
| 73 | child advocacy, child welfare, or juvenile law or as a program |
| 74 | attorney, case coordinator, or volunteer with the Statewide |
| 75 | Guardian Ad Litem Office. The executive director of the |
| 76 | Statewide Guardian Ad Litem Office shall supervise the |
| 77 | administration of the pilot program. |
| 78 | (c) The Statewide Guardian Ad Litem Office, in conjunction |
| 79 | with the pilot program, shall develop and implement a training |
| 80 | program for specialty guardians ad litem that includes all |
| 81 | training developed and provided for guardians ad litem pursuant |
| 82 | to s. 39.8296(2)(b)4. as well as training regarding: |
| 83 | 1. Social service programs available to pregnant women in |
| 84 | the state. |
| 85 | 2. The legal requirements of s. 390.01114. |
| 86 | 3. The availability of pregnancy counseling services in |
| 87 | the Fourth Judicial Circuit, including all providers offering |
| 88 | services under the Florida Pregnancy Support Services Program. |
| 89 | (d) Using funds specifically appropriated for the pilot |
| 90 | program, the Statewide Guardian Ad Litem Office, in conjunction |
| 91 | with the pilot program, shall design and implement an |
| 92 | appropriate specialty guardian ad litem program and may |
| 93 | establish the number of specialty guardians ad litem needed to |
| 94 | meet the needs of the pilot program. An existing guardian ad |
| 95 | litem may serve as a specialty guardian ad litem only after |
| 96 | completing the additional training requirements specified in |
| 97 | paragraph (c). |
| 98 | (e) The court shall appoint a specialty guardian ad litem |
| 99 | at the first hearing after the court is notified that the child |
| 100 | or youth is pregnant. If a guardian ad litem is representing the |
| 101 | child or youth at that time and is trained as a specialty |
| 102 | guardian ad litem, a new specialty guardian ad litem need not be |
| 103 | appointed. When a specialty guardian ad litem is appointed, the |
| 104 | court shall provide to the administrator, at a minimum, the name |
| 105 | of the child or youth, the location and placement of the child |
| 106 | or youth, the name of the department's authorized agent and |
| 107 | contact information, copies of all notices sent to the parent or |
| 108 | legal custodian of the child or youth, and any other information |
| 109 | or records concerning the child or youth. If a specialty |
| 110 | guardian ad litem is not available, then, pursuant to s. |
| 111 | 39.822(1)(b), the court shall appoint a pro bono attorney or a |
| 112 | guardian ad litem if a pro bono attorney is not available. |
| 113 | (f) The specialty guardian ad litem's representation shall |
| 114 | be limited to proceedings initiated under this chapter, except |
| 115 | that, upon the request of the child or youth, the specialty |
| 116 | guardian ad litem may represent the child or youth in a |
| 117 | proceeding filed pursuant to s. 390.01114(4). The specialty |
| 118 | guardian ad litem does not have the authority to accept notice |
| 119 | of termination of pregnancy pursuant to s. 390.01114. |
| 120 | (g) Upon the direction of the court, the pilot program |
| 121 | administrator shall assign a specialty guardian ad litem who |
| 122 | shall represent the child or youth until 6 months after the |
| 123 | conclusion of the child or youth's pregnancy. Once assigned, the |
| 124 | specialty guardian ad litem shall replace any existing guardian |
| 125 | ad litem appointed for the child or youth if the existing |
| 126 | guardian ad litem is not trained as a specialty guardian ad |
| 127 | litem and shall represent the child or youth's wishes for |
| 128 | purposes of proceedings under this chapter and s. 390.01114(4), |
| 129 | when applicable, as long as the child or youth's wishes are |
| 130 | consistent with the safety and well being of the child or youth. |
| 131 | Upon conclusion of the specialty guardian ad litem's |
| 132 | representation of the child or youth, a guardian ad litem shall |
| 133 | be appointed by the court at the earliest possible time. |
| 134 | (h) The pilot program is, and specialty guardians ad litem |
| 135 | assigned pursuant to the pilot program are, subject to s. |
| 136 | 39.822. |
| 137 | (2) FUNDING.-The Statewide Guardian Ad Litem Office shall |
| 138 | conduct the pilot program subject to a specific appropriation in |
| 139 | the General Appropriations Act. |
| 140 | Section 3. Subsections (3) through (9) of section 409.146, |
| 141 | Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (4) through |
| 142 | (10), respectively, and a new subsection (3) is added to that |
| 143 | section to read: |
| 144 | 409.146 Children and families client and management |
| 145 | information system.- |
| 146 | (3)(a) The system shall include information concerning the |
| 147 | status of pregnant children and pregnant youth in licensed care. |
| 148 | (b) Lead community-based providers and their |
| 149 | subcontractors operating pursuant to s. 409.1671 shall notify |
| 150 | the department within 72 hours after determining or discovering |
| 151 | that a child or youth in licensed care is pregnant. This |
| 152 | notification shall include the following data: |
| 153 | 1. The age of the pregnant child or youth. |
| 154 | 2. Whether the child or youth was pregnant prior to |
| 155 | entering licensed care or became pregnant while in licensed |
| 156 | care. |
| 157 | 3. The name of any entity that is providing prenatal care, |
| 158 | counseling, or other social services to the child or youth. |
| 159 | 4. Whether the child or youth has declined prenatal care, |
| 160 | counseling, or other social services. |
| 161 | (c) Lead community-based providers and their |
| 162 | subcontractors shall notify the department within 7 days after |
| 163 | determining or discovering the pregnancy outcome of a child or |
| 164 | youth in licensed care, including whether the pregnancy was |
| 165 | terminated or resulted in a live birth, stillbirth, or fetal |
| 166 | death as defined in s. 382.002, and such data shall be entered |
| 167 | in the system. If the pregnancy resulted in a live birth, the |
| 168 | data shall also indicate whether the infant remains in the care |
| 169 | of the child or youth, has been placed for adoption, or has been |
| 170 | placed in other licensed care. |
| 171 | (d) Data provided to the department pursuant to this |
| 172 | subsection shall be entered, aggregated, and reported pursuant |
| 173 | to subsection (7). |
| 174 | Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010. |