Florida Senate - 2016 SB 1212
By Senator Flores
37-00764A-16 20161212__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to appointed counsel for children;
3 amending s. 39.01305, F.S.; revising the conditions
4 under which an attorney must be appointed for a
5 dependent child; requiring the court to appoint
6 substitute counsel under certain circumstances;
7 requiring the Justice Administrative Commission to
8 contract with a not-for-profit organization to
9 establish the Quality Counsel Program; requiring all
10 compensated counsel to keep contemporaneous time
11 records and submit an itemized hourly statement to the
12 commission; specifying a date by which the program
13 must be completed and operational; specifying minimum
14 program requirements; providing an effective date.
15
16 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
17
18 Section 1. Subsection (3), paragraph (b) of subsection (4),
19 and subsection (5) of section 39.01305, Florida Statutes, are
20 amended, and subsection (6) of that section is republished, to
21 read:
22 39.01305 Appointment of an attorney for a dependent child
23 with certain special needs.—
24 (3) An attorney shall be appointed for a dependent child
25 who:
26 (a) Resides in a skilled nursing facility or is being
27 considered for placement in a skilled nursing home;
28 (b) Is prescribed a psychotropic medication but declines
29 assent to the psychotropic medication;
30 (c) Has a diagnosis of a developmental disability as
31 defined in s. 393.063;
32 (d) Is being placed in a residential treatment center or
33 being considered for placement in a residential treatment
34 center; or
35 (e) Is a victim of human trafficking as defined in s.
36 787.06(2)(d); or
37 (f) Has been identified by the court as having need for
38 legal representation.
39 (4)
40 (b) After an attorney is appointed, the appointment
41 continues in effect until the attorney is allowed to withdraw or
42 is discharged by the court or until the case is dismissed. If an
43 attorney withdraws or is discharged, the court shall appoint
44 substitute counsel. An attorney who is appointed under this
45 section to represent the child shall provide the complete range
46 of legal services, from the removal from home or from the
47 initial appointment through all available appellate proceedings.
48 With the permission of the court, the attorney for the dependent
49 child may arrange for supplemental or separate counsel to
50 represent the child in appellate proceedings. A court order
51 appointing an attorney under this section must be in writing.
52 (5) Except if the attorney has agreed to provide pro bono
53 services, an appointed attorney or organization must be
54 adequately compensated. All appointed attorneys or organizations
55 must be and provided with access to funding for expert
56 witnesses, depositions, and other costs of litigation. In order
57 to ensure that children receive quality representation, the
58 Justice Administrative Commission shall contract with a not-for
59 profit organization to establish the Quality Counsel Program.
60 Payment to an attorney is subject to appropriations and subject
61 to review by the Justice Administrative Commission for
62 reasonableness. The commission Justice Administrative Commission
63 shall contract with attorneys appointed by the court. Attorney
64 fees may not exceed $1,000 per child per year. All compensated
65 counsel must keep contemporaneous time records and must submit
66 an itemized hourly statement that complies with the commission
67 policies and provisions with each billing submission.
68 (6) The department shall develop procedures to identify a
69 dependent child who has a special need specified under
70 subsection (3) and to request that a court appoint an attorney
71 for the child.
72 Section 2. The establishment of the Quality Counsel Program
73 in s. 39.01305(5), Florida Statutes, may begin upon the
74 effective date of this act and must be completed and operational
75 by June 30, 2018. The Quality Counsel Program must, at a
76 minimum:
77 (1) Require all compensated counsel to keep contemporaneous
78 time records and submit an itemized hourly statement with each
79 billing submission. This requirement applies to all new
80 appointments made after June 30, 2016.
81 (2) Issue payment for services for the legal work
82 performed.
83 (3) Incentivize organizational legal service providers to
84 use teams that include individuals who are not attorneys to
85 provide holistic high-quality representation.
86 (4) Create a Quality Counsel Improvement Program that
87 includes attorney performance evaluation with individual file
88 review and courtroom observation.
89 Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.