The 7th week of the legislative session has just wrapped up and the completion of session is just 2 weeks away, ending on March 9, 2018.
The Direct Support Organization bill (SB 222/HB 6021), which will allow the Guardian ad Litem Foundation to continue its great work, passed unanimously in both chambers, and will be sent to the Governor for signature soon. The Pro Bono Matters bill (SB 146/HB 57) is on the way to the Governor - you will recall Florida Statutes require that in addition to the appointment of a guardian ad litem, the appointment of an attorney for certain children with special needs is required. These attorneys generally come from the Special Needs Registry and are paid $1,000 per year and reimbursed for case related due process costs. However, prior to the Court appointing an attorney from the registry, the court must request a recommendation from the GAL Program for an attorney who is willing to represent a child pro bono. Currently, statute allows for reimbursement of case-related due process costs only of Special Needs Registry attorneys, and not for attorneys willing to serve for free. This legislation rectifies that by allowing reimbursement for both attorneys from the registry, and those serving pro bono. The Engaging Incarcerated Parents bill (SB 522/HB 281) which has been sponsored by Senator Aaron Bean and Representative Patricia Williams (Representative Kimberly Daniels is a prime co-sponsor, and Representatives Ben Albritton, Julio Gonzalez, Gayle Harrell and Sam Killebrew are co-introducers) will address delays in permanency for children caused by failure to adequately involve incarcerated parents in the case plan.
This bill is consistent with existing law requiring participation of parents in case planning but gives specific direction to engage incarcerated parents. DCF will be required to attach a list of available services at the correctional facility to case plans; parents must be advised that even though they are incarcerated, they must make progress on their case plan (including planning and completing services offered at the facility); and they must communicate with their children. The bill also specifies that if a parent is released during a case plan, the plan should identify services and referrals to be completed upon the parent's release, and if a parent becomes incarcerated after a case plan is developed, the plan must be examined and modified if the incarceration impacts permanency. HB 281 unanimously passed the House floor, and we expect SB 522 to be voted on by the full Senate in the next week. The budget proposals are still working their way through the process.
You will recall that the first request will enable GAL's to stay on cases when a child is placed outside his circuit. Due to the number of children in out of home care increasing, more and more children are being placed outside their home circuits. The GAL Program is requesting approximately $330,000 in recurring revenue to reimburse volunteers for extraordinary or hardship travel expenses. Currently, this budget request has been added in the Senate version of the budget, however at this time, it is not in the House budget. Secondly, the GAL Program is seeking approximately $1 million in recurring revenue to fund additional positions to support the Early Childhood Courts (commonly referred to as "Baby Court"), which uses reduced caseload, evidence-based practices to mitigate trauma for children 0-3 through developmentally targeted strategies. At this time, there has been no funding allocated in either Senate or House budget, however, we are still working on it. Lastly, I wanted to follow up with you on Proposal #40 before the Constitutional Revision Commission (CRC).
As many of you are aware, this Proposal would guarantee a private attorney for every child in the dependency system. It would make the child's express wishes paramount through their attorney-client relationship. The CRC committee of reference voted down the proposal with a 5-2 vote. Many of you personally expressed your opinions as private citizens and the Commissioners heard your voices. You agreed that best interest representation is the most effective way to represent abused and neglected children. They listened. Although the proposal was defeated in committee, we have learned the proposal could be reconsidered if a vote of the majority of CRC members (in entirety) is garnered. Although not clearly defined in the CRC rules, this process is referred to as the "claw back" provision. We are watching this closely. Additionally, the CRC continues to travel around the state holding public hearings on proposals. Some of our volunteers and staff have testified and thanked the commission for voting Proposal #40 down in committee.
The next public hearing is in Pensacola, followed by Cape Coral. We will be monitoring what occurs at these meetings, in case there is an attempt to revive the proposal. Tuesday, February 27, 2018
1:00-7:00 PM CST University of West Florida Conference Center & Ballroom 11000 University Parkway, Building 22 Pensacola, FL 32514 Monday, March 05, 2018
1:00-7:00 PM CST
The Westin
I appreciate all you do for children. Alan F. Abramowitz
Executive Director
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