Brevard County Model Dependency
Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore Justice Center
2825 Judge Fran Jamieson Way
Viera, FL 32940
Phone: 321-633-2171
Fax: 321-633-2172
2825 Judge Fran Jamieson Way
Viera, FL 32940
Phone: 321-633-2171
Fax: 321-633-2172
Mission |
| The momentum of Florida’s
Dependency Court Improvement Program continues with our receipt of
an additional commitment of federal
funds to support our initiatives through the year 2005. Under the leadership
of the judiciary, we want to lead the national movement to institutionalize
standards of excellence for safe and permanent outcomes for children
who are abused, neglected or abandoned. One Year to Permanency is the
charge
to our child protection community. A sense of urgency must never be forgotten
for any child in the system. The complexity of our child protection statutes,
limitations in availability of resources, unique needs of parents and
their children, and the many professionals who share responsibilities
in the
outcome of cases present challenges that are unparalleled in other divisions
of court. It is the job of our program staff to develop and implement strategies designed to assist local courts in carrying out the requirements of our statutes and rules. The following sources guide our activities:
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Projects
Update |
| In 1998 we combined Florida’s two main child protection statutes into one chapter, Chapter 39, and brought that chapter into compliance with the Federal Adoptions and Safe Families Act. The 1999 follow-up corrected problems that became apparent after 6 months of implementation of the combined statute. During the 2000 legislative session, we focused on clarifying and reorganizing the portion of Chapter 39 that deals with the permanency options for Florida’s dependent children, along with some additional corrections that were not discovered in time for the previous year’s clean-up bill. A decision was made not to pursue legislative changes for the 2001 or 2002 session, due in large part to the fact that our child protection community has assimilated tremendous changes in the law during the last three years. It was felt that the most prudent action at this time would be preserving the laws as currently written in order to allow time for a meaningful assessment on the impact of the changes. |
Training
& Education |
| The fifth annual Dependency Court Improvement Conference occurred on August 28 - 30, 2001 at the Peabody Hotel in Orlando. This statewide meeting of judges and child protection professionals has grown from attendance of 300 individuals by invitation only at the first annual event, to 1,200 in 2001. This conference, planned jointly with the Department of Children and Families, offered an update of the new statutory changes in our child protection laws, numerous workshops which focused on resource needs, and meetings by judicial circuit to continue the development of local court community improvement plans under the leadership of the judges.Without federal court improvement grant funding, it would not have been possible for the state courts system. |
Bench
Book for Dependency Judges |
| With the sweeping changes to our child protection statutes which have also resulted in an increased review of cases by judges, the production of a guidebook is essential. We have already provided checklists for judges to use at each stage of a dependency action that will serve as the framework for the bench book. A compliment of relevant case law will be included. This project will be developed jointly with a team of dependency judges and be ready for distribution by the end of the year. |
Our initial dependency
court assessment which concluded in 1997, has provided a comprehensive
analysis of dependency cases from the initial stage of a proceeding
when a child and family is first involved in court to the final outcome
on the trial court level. It is now time to study the management and
processing of children when the courts of appeal are accessed. Anecdotal
information on the delays for many children when permanency decisions
hang on the response time for affirmation or overruling of trial court
decisions suggest the necessity for such a study. The completion of
automated case tracking system in the five district courts of appeal
in Florida should result in relatively uncomplicated access to identified
cases for analysis and development of recommendations to improve the
appellate process for children. This assessment is scheduled to begin
in the fall of 2002. |
Model
Dependency Court Pilots |
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| During the 2000 legislative session and continuing in the 2001 legislative session, model dependency courts were established in a total of five of our twenty judicial circuits. Each circuit received additional funding to improve the manner in which children alleged to be abused, abandoned or neglected move through the court system. The original legislative language required general masters to be hired in each circuit to hear cases referred by the presiding judge and thus to promote permanency for children. Language was ultimately dropped from the bill, but a specific appropriation for the first three pilots was passed during the 2000 session. Two additional circuits received pilot funding during the 2001 session. Pilots were funded as follows: |
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| Because the goals of model dependency courts are consistent with the efforts of the Children's Court Improvement program of the Office of the State Courts Administrator, the Children's Court Improvement Program (CCIP) provides technical assistance and guidance to each circuit. |
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